When I Wake, Will I Find You There?
by Scutter
Summary: Captured by an old enemy, and held in slavery, the Senshi are in desperate need of help. But who is left to free them from their chains? Completed.
1. Beginning at the End

When I Wake, Will I Find You There?  
By Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
  
I have made up some characters. They are MINE. All original Sailor Moon characters belong to whatever individuals/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Prologue - Beginning at the End  
  
  
~~Mina~~  
I have often wondered just where this story begins but whenever I   
think about it too much, it seems that the beginning and the end were   
so similar that it can be hard to tell the difference. So I will   
start here, where I sit now in a park.  
  
In a park, by a lake, at the edge of a city, where, a long time ago,   
a group of people sat together on a blanket, enjoying the remnants of   
a picnic lunch. Well, I say they were sitting, but really, they were   
doing anything but that.  
  
"Come on, Chad! Pay attention!" I didn't bother looking round as Rei   
verbally abused her boyfriend. Apparently, he had cancelled their   
date the night before, and Rei was having some 'pay back' time. She   
was lying on the blanket, her legs sticking out into the sun while   
her eyes were sheltered by a tree, and Chad was *supposed* to be   
feeding her M&M's - part of his punishment of having to fulfil Rei's   
every wish during the picnic. Chad has never had the best attention   
span, however, and Rei did *not* take neglect lightly. *Sigh*  
  
Lita and Ken had long since left our group, rushing off to join a   
game of soccer with a bunch of guys nearby. We were not likely to   
hear from them for the rest of the afternoon.  
  
Ami and Greg were, in fact, the only two of us actually *sitting*.   
They had out one of Ami's advanced chemistry books, pouring over the   
relative benefits of molecular ionisation - I would rather visit the   
dentist than read that stuff - but they were happy, so that's what   
mattered.  
  
And Serena and Darien, you ask? Well, they were . . . um, perhaps I'd   
better not be too descriptive here. They were off a little way, lying   
in the grass - well, okay, Darien was lying in the grass, and Serena   
was lying on Darien . . . uh, maybe I should just stop there. Anyway,   
they were enjoying themselves, if you catch my drift. (And for all of   
you with hentai minds, remember, this is a public place!!)  
It was barely three weeks since Darien had proposed to a very   
stunned, but entirely overjoyed Serena, just after her 19th birthday,   
and even though they had been dating for years, being engaged was   
still very new and exciting for them. What else can you expect from   
people who have been in love for 1000 years??  
  
And me? Well, I couldn't be happier. I was leaning back on my elbows,   
pretending to be watching the lake, but actually *ahem* watching   
Darien and Serena. I just can't get over how cute those two are   
together. They always seem to bring out the best in each other.   
Serena tries to be a little more mature to impress Darien, and Darien   
can't help letting down his defences whenever Serena's around. He   
just melts into a little Darien-puddle. It's *so* sweet.  
Okay, so I'm being terribly mushy, but I *am* the Senshi of Love, and   
these things get to me, all right? It's not often that you get a   
chance to see true love in this world, and seeing it so perfectly   
between those two gets my heart racing every time.  
  
Serena used to worry about that. I admit, there were a few times when   
I used to watch them a little too closely, and Serena got very   
concerned that maybe I liked Darien. But between you, me and the   
paper, I can honestly say that that isn't true. He is cute - anyone   
would have to admit that - but I've never felt anything more than   
friendship for him - it's him *with Serena* that makes me melt. Some   
people get high on drugs. I get high on love.  
  
So anyway, here we were, sitting in the middle of a park, having   
spent a *perfect* day outside, and right then, I couldn't have been   
happier. I was surrounded by people in love, the sun was shining, the   
birds were singing, the dogs were barking and . . . and the soccer   
ball just landed in the lake. The soccer ball was in the lake and   
Lita was ready to deck the guy who had kicked it. The guy was running   
scared, and Ken was ready to hold Lita back. Lita was ready to deck   
Ken! Ken was too fast, and pulled Lita into a tight kiss. Lita   
melted.  
  
I grinned, and sighed. Everything was perfect.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Twilight has always made me a little nervous. A lot of people think   
it's very romantic - the fading light, the first faint stars coming   
out and the scents of the night wafting in off the ocean. *I* always   
found twilight oppressive. The bright sunshine of the day giving in   
to the cold pressure of darkness - I don't understand how people can   
like it.  
  
It seemed somehow strange that evening, walking home from the park   
with my friends. At the time, I couldn't work out why I was so   
nervous. But looking back now, I know the reason.  
  
As I watched my friends in blissful oblivion with their boyfriends,   
I couldn't help remembering how long it had been since we had had to   
unite as the Sailor Scouts, and fight for the safety of our planet.   
It had been just over three years now since the last evil force had   
been overcome, and even though we no longer relied on each other for   
our safety, we were still very close friends.   
  
Ken left our group fairly soon after we left the park, as he lived   
in the opposite direction to the rest of us, and then Greg was the   
next to leave, when we came past his house not far from the park.   
When we got to the crossroads just near the arcade the rest of us   
split up, Rei and Chad heading back to the temple, Ami was going   
home with Lita - Lita was cooking up something special for dinner,   
Darien and Serena went off together (of course) towards Darien's   
apartment and I headed home alone.   
  
But after I had said goodbye to my friends, I didn't go straight to   
my apartment. Instead, I just stayed there for some reason, standing   
on the corner of the crossroads, staring up at the night sky. Though   
I don't like dusk, I actually find the night sky quite beautiful. It   
has a distant, protective feel to it, watching the stars so far   
away, winking beautifully as if just for our comfort. But there was   
something odd about it tonight.  
  
The misty clouds rode high, covering the moon for an instant, and   
that's when I saw it for certain. The clouds weren't grey. They had   
a sickly purple colour.  
  
Rei must have sensed something, for she turned around at that point,   
staring back down the road at me. "Mina?" She took a step towards   
me. "Mina, are you all right?" In the back of my mind, I saw the   
others had also stopped, staring back at me while I gazed at Rei in   
confusion. "The clouds . . ." I began, looking up again.   
  
"MINA!!"  
  
My jaw dropped. Like a whirlwind, a thick purple fog came thundering   
out of the sky, encircling me, and from their screams, I knew it had   
my friends as well. In a dizzying fury, I was swept off my feet,   
tumbling through the air like a rag doll. Pain like lightening shot   
through me as bright electricity flashed all around us. My vision   
swam in horrific shades of black and red, and in the back of my   
mind, I was aware of Chad's distant voice calling Rei's name . . .  
  
~~Rei~~  
I don't remember where we woke up, exactly. The months that followed   
have become so blurred that I can't tell the difference between that   
first dungeon, and all the ones that followed. It was not cold.   
That's all I remember.  
  
After I had woken, I peered through the dim light, and saw my   
friends around me, all similarly affected. Ami was struggling to sit   
up, Mina and Lita were still unconscious, and in the corner, I could   
see Darien cradling Serena in his arms, calling to her softly.   
  
"Ami," I gasped.  
  
She looked up at me from behind those frightened eyes, and my heart   
shuddered. I scooted across the floor to her, hugging her gently.   
"Oh Ami. Are you all right?" I felt her nod, and bit my lip to keep   
from crying. Gradually, my friends came to, each of us asking the   
same questions of each other. Where were we? Why were we here? Who   
had taken us?   
  
It was then that I felt a cold presence watching us, and I looked   
around. A grate slid out of the far wall, and a tall figure stood in   
the dimness beyond. It did not move for some time, watching us with   
eyes we could not see, but my gaze never wavered from its cloaked   
bulk in the darkness.   
  
Finally, it moved, stepping closer to the grate, while we all stared   
back, defiant.  
  
"A punishment," he began, his lifeless voice sliding through the air   
like cold slime, "has never had a purpose if it didn't fit the   
crime. And for this reason alone, you shall know what your crime   
was. You have been brought here by order of the Reformation. You are   
here to be punished for crimes committed against the Reformation by   
the late Queen Serenity."  
  
Serena gasped. I heard Darien move closer to her, and then the other   
scouts muttered sounds of incredulity, but before any of us could   
ask any further questions, the figure spoke again.  
  
"For as long as you are here, you will have no rights, no liberties,   
and will obey all orders immediately, or you will be punished. You   
will be here," he continued, "until you die."  
  
"Not on your life." Lita was on her feet in rage, her transformation   
pen in her hand. "JUPITER POWER" she screamed, holding the pen above   
her. But even before the first flash of light had enveloped her, a   
tentacle ripped itself out of the wall, snatched the pen from her   
grasp, and vanished into the blackness.  
  
"MERCURY POWER!"  
  
"VENUS POWER!"  
  
I watched as my other friends began to transform, then amazement   
turned to horror as their transformation pens endured the same fate,   
and I caught myself before I fell into the same trap, keeping my pen   
hidden. Darien, too, had stopped himself before trying to transform,   
and he and I looked at each other. What were we to do?   
  
"Give up your weapons immediately," the tall figure ordered, his   
voice emotionless.  
  
"Go to hell," Darien replied, his voice almost as cold as that which   
held us captive.  
  
A low grumbling filled that small room, and I felt the wall behind   
me begin to move, closing in on us.  
  
"I do not tolerate disobedience, and I have little patience. Give us   
your weapons or you will be crushed to death now."  
  
Darien and I stared at each other in horror, but the walls closed   
quickly and gave us little time to think. In a fit of panic, I held   
out my pen, wincing at it was snatched from me, and Darien must have   
done the same with his transformation rose, as the sound ceased, and   
we were left in a cramped space.  
  
Through the muffled walls, I heard a second voice. "What about the   
girl. The daughter of Serenity? Does she possess any weapons?"  
"She does not have the crystal," our captor replied. "We have   
scanned her thoroughly."  
  
I shuddered. Of course, Serena would not have her crystal with her.   
We had not fought in years, and there had been no need for it. I   
imagined where it lay now, nestled in one of her drawers at home, with   
no one to guard it, useless to us.  
  
The figure came back to the gate, and I could see a vague flash of   
red on his cloak.   
  
"Very well," his voice oozed through the air again. "Then we shall   
continue. As I was explaining, before I was interrupted, during the   
Silver Millennium, my people had dedicated themselves to the   
recovery of the old ways, reviving the art of sorcery, or black   
magic, as some call it. In her tyranny, Queen Serenity forbade our   
practices. She said they were dangerous. They were, in fact, only a   
threat to her own power, and to maintain her own control of the people,   
she used the Silver Crystal to banish us to a far realm, a cold,   
barren place of darkness, when we refused to give up the old ways."   
The voice stopped for a moment, and a sound like laughter seemed to   
emanate from it. I shuddered at the sound.  
  
"It is fortunate," it continued, "that the Queen had more enemies   
than just us. Queen Beryl also saw Serenity's true nature of tyranny,   
and set us free with the power of the Negaverse, in order to assist   
her conquest of the Moon Kingdom. *She* was a true warrior. It is a   
shame she had to die."  
  
I heard a low growl from the corner, and realised it was Darien. I   
could hear my heart pounding below that growl, like it was measuring   
the days of my life before me.  
  
"It was Beryl who helped us become the Reformation. When we were set   
free, we used the power of the old ways to prolong our lives, so   
that we would have time to exact our revenge on the Queen, or on any   
of her blood line that survived the war. And so here we are, 1000 years   
later, ready to reform your souls into repentance for our suffering."  
Darien leapt to his feet, slamming his fist into the bars of the   
grate. "I personally swear I will make sure you suffer more than any   
creature in creation, you devil."  
  
The figure laughed. "Calm down, little boy," he muttered, as the   
grate was again slid closed. "Your brave words will be forgotten   
soon enough."  
  
As we were left in darkness, a soft hiss filled the room, and we   
were soon choking on a stifling gas.  
  
I grunted as Ami fell against me, unconscious, and I, too, began to   
feel the effects of the drug. As I blacked out, I tried desperately   
to call out with my powers of telepathy.   
  
"Help us . . ."   
  
I don't know if anyone ever heard me.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I don't know how much later it was when I woke again, but I was   
instantly cringing at the pounding headache I had. Bright lights and   
loud voices surrounded me, and I suddenly felt myself being lifted,   
and held more or less upright, thought I couldn't even try to stand.  
"A right pain in the neck, this one is. A fireball for anyone who   
wants to break her."  
  
"Fifty!" I heard a voice shout.  
  
"Fifty five" came another.  
  
"Sixty!"  
  
"Sixty five!"  
  
There was a pause. "Any further bids? Going once for sixty five.   
Going twice. Sold for sixty five. Next item, a blue haired pretty.   
Meek as a spring day, this one . . ."  
  
I was shoved back to the floor, and as I opened my eyes dimly, I saw   
the bars of the cage around me. What was happening?   
  
The information slowly seeped into my foggy mind, and I realised I   
was at an auction. More than that, I realised I had just been sold!!   
It was a slave auction!! I tried to rise to my elbows, to look   
around, but when I raised my head, it came face to face with a truly   
terrifying sight.  
  
A red cloaked figure came to stand before me, it's head covered in a   
faceless red hood. The whole of it's body was covered in a shroud-  
like robe, utterly featureless. It lowered it's head to the bars of   
the cage, though I could see nothing that resembled eyes in the   
masked face.  
  
"Well, Mars. It seems the tables have turned. Just remember this is   
what happens when you try to cross the Reformation." A hideous laugh   
echoed through my ears, and that was the last I heard for some time.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
~~Narrator~~  
A cold draft whistled in through the open window and extinguished the   
candle on the table, sending the room into almost total darkness.   
Huddled over the table, ignoring the breeze, a figure cloaked in   
black chanted rhythmically as he stared into a swirling portal. An   
image appeared before him, flickering briefly before it cleared, and   
held steady. In the image, a young, blond woman appeared. She was   
being dragged down a dark corridor, three large guards surrounding   
her. They reached a door, and the girl was shoved through it,   
sprawling roughly onto the filthy floor. She cried out in pain as she   
hit the ground, and in the dim moonlight, the black figure saw caked   
blood around her wrists, and dirt smeared on her face. Within his   
hood, his eyes narrowed. "Mina," he whispered, his lips rising to a   
vicious snarl. "Soon now, my precious. Soon."  
  



	2. Fallen Angels

When I Wake, Will I Find You There?  
By Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
Warnings: Character torture and violence.  
  
I have made up some characters. All original Sailor Moon characters   
belong to whatever individuals/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 1 - Fallen Angels  
  
  
~~Mina~~   
I didn't even bother to flinch as the wooden mallet came down on my   
shoulders. Numbly, I fell, the dull thud of my body hitting the   
floor registering in my brain while the pain did not.  
  
"Worthless wretch," the voice above me muttered. "Get up and work,   
you filth. And let this be a lesson to you. No slave of mine ever   
disobeys me."  
  
It was pointless trying to explain that I hadn't disobeyed him. My   
limbs were simply too sore to lift the heavy tray - the contents now   
scattered on the floor - and I stiffly rose to my knees, gathering   
the broken pieces of the plates and bowls.  
  
I bit my lip to keep the tears back, though it no longer mattered   
that crying was a weakness. I gave up, and let the tears fall.  
Stumbling to my feet once more, I lifted the tray and shuffled back   
to the kitchen. My bare feet hit the cold concrete, and I winced,   
though I didn't dare hesitate. Strange, that we often think we can   
be so strong, but when it comes to the test, we buckle. Take me, for   
example. I had been Sailor V. Adored and admired by the world, they   
had thought nothing could get me down. *I* had thought nothing   
could . . .  
  
As I leaned over to tip the broken china into the garbage, some of   
my hair fell forward.   
  
I stopped.  
  
That lock of hair shattered me. It was matted, oily and dull, grey   
streaks of dirt running through the blond. I remember how my hair   
had once been - long, thick and flowing like silk, glowing in the   
sunlight like gold. I had loved my hair.   
  
Stunned, I dropped the tray, and as if cradling a child, I held that   
sickly lock of hair while I slid to the ground in agony, the sobs   
tearing at my dry and swollen throat.   
  
I would SHAVE my head if it would only regain me my freedom.  
  
  
~~Ami~~  
It is strange, that a person can come to a point in their lives,   
where everything they thought they knew becomes wrong. Their whole   
perspective on life can be flipped upside down in a moment. That is   
what happened to me.  
  
I had been living in this dungeon for about two weeks. I quickly   
lost track of time, so I don't know exactly how long it was. I was   
mainly used for hard labour - hauling rocks from the mines to be   
carted away. I rarely saw daylight. At night, I was returned to my   
cell, a crude, but effective affair that shut out all light but the   
glow from around the door.  
  
I had always been a timid creature, believing that avoiding a   
conflict would always be safer than forcing a confrontation. Even as   
Sailor Mercury, I would only fight if I had to, preferring to beat   
the enemy with brains rather than with strength.   
  
But like I said, that changed. That inner voice that guides us all,   
that had previously told me when to run and when to hide now said   
something different. "Be bold" it said. "Be bold and believe in   
yourself."  
  
So I was bold. I dared to try and escape this dungeon, this hell I   
am living in. Being a genius has some significant advantages. I   
studied the locks to my cell with vivid attention, working through   
their design, and dismantling them in minutes (with the help of a   
small metal spike I had found on the ground outside.) My friends   
would have laughed at this, but I used my strategic skills as a   
chess player to out-think the guards. They were predictable   
creatures, bored with their duties and changing shifts at regular   
times. Getting around them was easy. Just like in chess, have a   
little patience, a few subtle moves, then *BANG*. Checkmate.  
Unfortunately, there was one thing I had not thought of.   
  
They carried guns.   
  
I did not.  
  
They carried guns and they shot me from behind when I thought I had   
already won.   
  
Now, I am lying on the damp straw that I call a bed, in a cell where   
I have not seen sunlight for days. They do not care for a slave who   
cannot work, and have forgotten me and my pain.   
  
I close my eyes again to the darkness, and her face flares brightly   
in my mind. I shudder to think of her suffering. I wonder where she   
is now. Oh, my precious Princess, my Serena. Can you ever forgive me   
for having failed you?  
  
I have not been able to walk for a week. I have been given no food   
for four days and it is over twelve hours since I last had a drink.   
I can't sleep. Not because of the pain of my wounds, but the pain   
inside. Because I know I am beaten. Because I know I failed. And I   
know I will stay here, alone and afraid. Alone, because my friends   
cannot come for me, and afraid, because I am not bold.  
  
  
~~Rei~~  
I hear thunder in the distance. Is that thunder? It must have been   
thunder. Yet it continues as thunder does not, a low rumble that   
goes on for minutes at a time. I try to raise my head, to figure out   
what this sound can be. I lift my head from the floor, and the sound   
stops. Oh well. Maybe next time. I put my head back down again, and   
the sound returns. Up. Silence. Down. Noise. Interesting.  
  
I lift my head again, but this time, I turn over onto my other side,   
and as I do so, the sound changes. It now sounds like rushing water   
. . . Ah! That's what it is. There are pipes that run under the   
floor. It's the sound of water rushing through them. It echoes   
against the cold stone floor like the ocean. Strange, that I should   
think this noise came from outside, when it was in here all along.  
  
I have nothing to do here any more. They took me to the dungeons when   
I refused to work, then beat me so that I *couldn't* work. I spent   
days trying to call my friends. My psychic powers have always allowed   
me a little telepathy. Darien, too, has often tried to communicate   
that way, and I had tried to reach him. I heard nothing at first,   
then slowly, voices began appearing in my mind. It was only when I   
began listening to what the voices had to say that I realised where   
they were coming from. They whispered words to me, little words that   
used to sting so terribly. Failure. Failure. Failure. That had   
gone on for hours. I switched to a different voice. Traitor.   
Traitor. No, I won't listen to that. I tried to help. I tried to   
help my Princess. I had to give up my transformation pen. I had no   
choice. I *had* to do it. Traitor.  
  
Finally, I had realised whose the voices were. They were my own. My   
own thoughts. And all the worse for it, because I could not turn   
them off. I have not tried telepathy since then. I cannot. I have   
tried not to listen to the voices, but they come back in my sleep,   
they whisper one word to me all night in my dreams. Serena. Serena.   
Serena. Serena! SERENA!  
  
I scream at them. I scream at the voices. I scream at the voices   
that call to me from within my own tortured mind.  
  
  
~~Lita~~  
I used to believe I could fight anything. I fought the boys at   
school when they tried to steal my lunch money. I fought the   
Negamonsters when they tried to steal my friends. I fought my   
captors when they tried to steal my life.  
  
But there is one person I cannot fight. I cannot fight myself.   
I am not chained here. They have no ropes or shackles to keep me   
here, no gates to lock me in, and yet I remain. Why?  
  
Because if I left I would die. This frozen wasteland would kill me   
in a few hours. The blizzards that rip the land would bury me in ice   
and the frosty wind would tear the warmth and life from my body like   
leaves from an autumn tree.  
  
So then I must ask myself, since I will not runaway, am I afraid to   
die? Then I must fight myself again, which I no longer have the   
strength to do. I think I must live because if I am dead, how can I   
help my Princess? How can I free her? But I know this is only an   
excuse, because I *am* afraid. I am afraid to die. I am afraid to   
run away from here and take my chances in the frozen land that   
surrounds us for miles.  
  
I am afraid, and so I fight myself.  
  
  
~~Darien~~   
As I watch Serena suffering, I know it is my fault. I tried to   
protect her, as was my sworn duty. But I failed. I gave in without   
so much as a fight.  
  
Serena tells me everyday that she loves me, and needs me to go on. I   
watch her grow weaker, while her love grows stronger, and though she   
lies beyond the reach of my fingers, I reach out to her, for I know   
it gives her strength. But what use is strength when we will be here   
forever? All the scouts are in chains. Who will rescue us?  
  
They have chained us in the same room, thank goodness, but a cruel   
joke, I suppose, they keep the chains just too short for us to touch   
each other. It tears at my heart to have her scarcely inches from   
my fingertips. We have tried everything we can, but to no avail. We   
can't reach each other. If only I could touch her!  
  
They come for her almost every day. Those tall figures in red   
shrouds, they kept my Princess and I here with them, when the rest of   
the scouts were sold as slaves.   
  
I shudder even to think of them. Their faceless masks terrify me, as   
I am unable to deal with an enemy that I do not understand. Are they   
human? Are they even alive? Or are they some hideous demon?  
  
They take Serena almost everyday to be tortured. Sometimes they take   
me as well, and make me watch. It rips at my soul to see her   
screaming in pain. I beg them to leave her alone, to take me   
instead, but their leader apparently has no interest in me. I am a   
liability, he says. They only care for the Princess, the daughter of   
Serenity. They keep me alive because they are afraid she will die   
too quickly if I am taken away.   
  
I thought nothing could be worse than seeing my Princess suffering   
like that. But I found out there was. One day they did not bother to   
take me with them, so I sat in my cell, for hours I sat, letting my   
crazed imagination play over every possible torture she could be   
enduring. Then she was returned, and I could not even offer her my   
comfort, for she is too far away. She lay still for a long time   
after that. She wouldn't look at me. That hurt more than ever, for I   
feel that she blames me for this. I could not stand that, though I   
know it is my fault that she suffers. Because I will not let her go.  
I am almost at the point of telling her to give up on me, and to let   
herself die, so that her pain will end. But this, too, terrifies me,   
as I could not bare to go on without her, and I am not yet weak   
enough to die. I know that by keeping her here I am causing her pain,   
and I hate myself for it. So you see, this *is* my fault. I am   
selfish. I am scared.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Narrator~~  
Cloaked in the darkness of his study, the black-clad figure stared   
into the portal in silence. As he watched, the young blond woman was   
again shoved roughly into a small cell, with the sound of rats   
scurrying away in the darkness. The girl fell to the floor, and the   
door slammed shut.   
  
In the dimness of the study, the portal closed. Then the man rose   
from his seat, striding confidently across the room. Reaching the   
far wall, he picked up a gleaming dagger, examining it under the   
brilliant light of the full moon. Yes, Mina he thought, with a   
cool disregard. It is time.  
  
  
~~Mina~~  
Lying on my back in the damp cell, I see the full moon out the   
barred window. I wonder if Serena can be staring up at the same   
moon, or if she has been denied its presence. I idly swat at a rat   
that dared to venture too close. It squeals in the darkness, and   
runs away. But not far. The smell of my rank filth encourages them   
now. It is only a matter of time before they come swarming around   
me. They know by now that I am not dangerous. I have stopped chasing   
them away now, only trying when they come within reach.  
  
I shift my aching body slightly so that I am lying in the full light   
of the moon, and again, she returns to my thoughts.  
  
Oh, Serena. I have failed you. Had we worked together when we were   
first captured, we could be free now. I am ashamed that they caught   
us so easily. We should have fought them. I have failed.  
  
The moon continued to rise through the night, and soon it was beyond   
my view. I lay down on the cobbled stones again, tears coming to my   
eyes as memories came once more to haunt me. I was so caught up in   
my thoughts of failure that I almost missed the shouts coming from   
down the hall. I sighed. Probably some slave being punished again.   
Screams were no stranger to me here.  
  
But as I listened, the shouts grew louder. Then, suddenly, like a   
bomb had gone off in its foundations, the entire house shook. If I   
hadn't been lying down, I would have fallen.  
  
Eyes wide, I slowly sat up, brushing some straw from my hair. What   
was going on?  
  
Then another explosion. The guards were screaming now, the sound of   
death filled my ears. I crawl to the door, and try to see out a   
crack, to see what was happening. Something heavy - it sounded like   
a body - was thrown against my door just then, and I involuntarily   
jumped back. My heart was pounding. What was happening??  
Then I got the biggest shock of my life.  
  
Mina.  
  
I gasped. I hadn't just heard my name . . . had I?  
  
Mina!! Again, the voice came from within my own mind, not from   
outside. Telepathy I thought blurrily. But who . . .?  
  
Mina. Run.  
  
As the voice spoke, the door before me slammed open, the bolts   
physically ripped from the wall by some unseen force.   
But I had not even the presence of mind to understand this. Run? Run   
where? And why? They would only catch me again, and punish me for   
trying to escape. No, I would stay here. I was better off here.   
Surely I was.  
  
Mina. The voice was softer, this time, like a feather on the   
breeze. Trust me.  
  
Shaking my head, I sighed. I didn't understand this at all. Yet the   
voice was strangely compelling. Slowly, I rose to my feet, and   
adrenalin started pumping through my veins as I approached the open   
doorway.  
  
I craned my neck warily out and looked carefully both ways. The hall   
was deserted. The stairs at the far end beckoned sharply.   
Reason vanished, my heart leapt into my throat, and I ran.  
  
I flew solely on instinct as I tumbled down the stairs, travelling   
almost faster than my feet could take me. I was aware of the   
clanging of metal on metal somewhere in the house, and of the shouts   
and screams of my keepers. My only thoughts were to avoid them for   
this moment, and I took which ever hallways would lead me in the   
opposite direction to them. It was only a few moments, though,   
before I was gasping for breath, and my feet were stinging in pain.   
Halfway down a flight of stairs, I tripped, and fell the rest of the   
way, landing hard on the floor. My ribs sent a stabbing pain through   
my chest, and though my worn fingers clawed the floor, my strength   
failed me. My arm slipped, and I fell back onto the wooden boards,   
panting for air. And a lonely thought snaked its way through my   
mind. It's over.   
  
MINA!!  
  
That voice again. But I could not rise. Pain stabbed at me   
everywhere; my vision blurred before me; my head began to spin. A   
sob escaped from my lips, a miserable sound that stunned me. Could   
that pathetic cry really have come from me? Was I so helpless as   
that? And the answer came back with frightening clarity. Yes. You   
are weak. You are helpless. You will die.  
  
Foggily, I forced my eyes open, daring myself to look at the   
executioner who would no doubt be standing before me. But what I saw   
shocked me more than any demon could have done. I saw the front   
door.  
  
The front door standing open and unattended, the usual guards   
strangely, and magically, absent.   
  
And beyond the door? Grass. Trees. Moonlight.   
  
My body began to move again, and I dragged myself several feet along   
the floor before I managed to rise again, stumbling frantically   
through the open door and into my freedom.  
  
My feet hit the coarse grass outside, and I fell again. My feet were   
burning, my limbs screaming in pain, my breath was ragged in my   
chest. But now, the scent of the wind was in my lungs, and I was   
running for my life. I looked up, and saw, through the blackness,   
the trees in the distance. I saw my freedom. I ran.  
  
Through the thunder in my ears, I heard the hoofbeats behind me, and   
in an instant, knew I was going to die. They would kill me for sure.   
Tears burst from my eyes. Happy tears, this time, for I knew that I   
would die free.   
  
But the expected blow never came. Instead, a strong arm wrapped   
itself around my waist, even as I ran, and I was hauled roughly onto   
the back of the horse. A horrific thought crossed my mind. Perhaps   
they *will* take me back after all. No, I shuddered at the thought.   
I would rather die. I turned to face my opponent, twisting in the   
saddle, as a cold euphoria rushed through me. I would *not* go back!   
I would fight them, and they would be forced to kill me!  
  
The sight of this cloaked, black figure filled me with terror. I had   
thought to strike him, but my arms would not respond. Hysteria took   
over, and I laughed. I could no more fight back than I could grow   
wings and fly. I looked up, and stared into his eyes.  
Blue I thought, as I blacked out. Impossibly blue.  
  



	3. A Tortured Paradise

When I Wake, Will I Find You There?  
By Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
I have made up some characters.   
Disclaimer: All original Sailor Moon characters belong to whatever   
individuals/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 2 - A Tortured Paradise  
  
  
~~Mina~~  
Wakefulness came slowly that morning. Usually, I would wake from my   
dreams of home, and know at once I was back in my nightmare of a   
life. The rank smell of the cell and the inevitable feel of a rat   
snuffling round me often made me wretch. Then I would sit up and   
wipe the remnants of tears from my eyes and numbly go back to the   
continual dread of daylight.  
  
But as I said, this morning I woke slowly. I sighed deeply as I   
smelled the cool, fresh scent of the pillow beneath my head, and   
luxuriated in the gentle caress of the sheets around me. It was only   
as I tried to roll over that I felt a stiffness and mild pain in my   
body, but this, also, came to my mind gradually. Still with my eyes   
closed, I reached up to brush my hair out of my face, and it was   
then that it struck me. My hand touched not an oily, matted mass,   
but something soft.  
  
My eyes shot open.   
  
I don't recall if I screamed or not, but I may well have done.   
It was light. That's what hit me first. My bed was covered in white   
linen, and the curtains over the window let light in from the   
morning sun, sending the room into a warm glow.   
  
I don't think I moved for a good fifteen minutes, scared that this   
dream would vanish if I were to reach out and touch it, and equally   
scared that this was real, and I had no idea where I was, or why I   
was there. My pounding heart finally slowed after a time, though my   
fingers still clenched the sheets spasmodically.  
  
I slowly took in every detail of the room with wide eyes. It was not   
an elaborate room, yet I found it fascinating. Even common things   
like the dresser and the small stool by the desk struck a chord of   
wonder in me. I had thought I would never see these every day   
objects again. The floor was carpeted, red and soft-looking, the   
walls were painted white and the picture on the wall was surrounded   
by a plain gold frame. All simple details that amazed me.  
  
Finally, I looked down at myself - my arms and legs. My clothes had   
apparently been removed, and I was dressed only in a light shirt.   
Rolling the sleaves up, I saw that the cuts on my wrists had been   
bandaged, and some sweet smelling oil had been rubbed onto my   
bruises. A tight bandage was wrapped around my chest - I had   
suspected that I had cracked a rib - and obviously that had been   
taken care of. My whole body felt clean, and though stiff, the   
burning pain was gone. I slipped out of bed, but my half-nakedness   
made me instantly nervous. A thick robe hung on the back of the   
door, however, and I quickly put it on, wincing slightly as my   
bandaged feet touched the floor.  
  
Still in a daze, I gingerly pulled the door open, somehow expecting   
it to creak gently, which it did. The hallway was brightly lit, the   
morning sun welcomed in by the numerous windows, and the same red   
carpet stretched away to the staircase at the end. Still in bare   
feet, I padded to the end of the hallway, and peered down the   
stairs. The room below was deserted.   
  
By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, I could smell a   
strange scent, and it took me a moment to realise it was the smell   
of food cooking. My mouth was watering instantly.  
  
Following the scent, I passed two closed doors, then came upon a   
third, seemingly the source of the smell. I gingerly pushed it   
open . . .  
  
And my world crashed.  
  
There, sitting at a long wooden table, a half-eaten plate of food in   
front of him, sat the man from yesterday, the cloaked figure on the   
horse. His black hair fell roughly over his forehead, and it took me   
a full ten seconds to realise that he was staring at me.  
  
Tears rushed to my eyes, and my legs collapsed from under me. It   
hadn't been a dream. I had not escaped. The man was here to hurt me,   
of course. Why else would he be here? Freed from one prison, I had   
stumbled into another. My sobs came incoherently as he rose from his   
chair to kneel before me.  
  
"No," I whispered in desperation. "Stay away. Please." But he did   
not listen. Instead, he wrapped his strong arms around me, lifting   
me ever so gently as I continued my pathetic protests, and placed me   
gently on a padded chair beside the table.  
  
My head fell against his shoulder as he gently held me, and I   
mumbled nonsense while he rubbed my shoulders and whispered soothing   
words to me. I tried to struggle against him but his strong arms   
around me would not let me go, and my eyes closed in defeat. I was   
trapped. But it was not until my eyes had closed that I realised   
just how gently he was holding me. His chest was warm and firm under   
my cheek, and he smelled of evergreen and spice. He felt so . . .   
human. I had not felt the touch of another human in months, and   
though a part of my brain tried to rebel against the idea, I found   
myself pressing against him, the sensation was so pleasant, and my   
sobs quickly ceased.  
  
He held me for some time like this, waiting until I had relaxed a   
little, then he sat me up straight, pulling away a little. "Are you   
okay now?"  
  
I nodded dumbly.  
  
"Are you hungry? Would you like some breakfast?"  
  
Again, I nodded, too shy to speak, but too hungry to refuse. A plate   
was set before me, but to my surprise, it held only a piece of   
toast, a few strips of bacon and a small amount of egg.  
  
I looked up at the dark-haired man in dismay. I was hungry! I had   
though I would get more food than this!  
  
He smiled gently at me. "After being starved for a while, it's not   
good for you to eat too much too quickly. It'll make you sick.   
You'll be surprised how little you feel like eating anyway."  
  
I shrank away from his gentle gaze, unwilling to argue, and scared   
of what would happen if I did. Disregarding the knife and fork, I   
picked up the toast with my fingers and began chewing the edge, the   
warm butter melting through me like the richest honey. A glass of   
juice was also set before me, and I drank it greedily. But the   
strange man was still there, watching me, and I paused, regarding   
him with nervous, suspicious eyes. Seeing my discomfort, he returned   
to his own chair, finishing his breakfast while I picked over mine.   
Though I dared not look at him, I imagined I could feel his gaze on   
me, and that made me too nervous to eat, though my stomach cried out   
for food.  
  
Finally, though, he rose from the table, briefly addressing the   
kitchen maid before leaving the room via the same door I had come   
in. I breathed a sigh of relief, and returned to my meal, which, by   
this time, was only luke warm. I was not about to complain, though,   
and quickly wolfed down the last of it.   
  
"Oh, I see you're getting your appetite back already, aren't you!"   
My head snapped up in surprise. I had not heard the maid approaching,   
and I stared at her as she set a mug of tea before me.   
  
She chuckled. "Oh, don't worry about me, lass. I don't bite." She   
pulled a stool up beside me. "Go on, drink up," she said, pointing   
to the tea. "You'll feel better for't!"   
  
I finally noticed the tea, and picked it up, offering the woman a   
weak smile. The returned it with a wide grin. "Now, that's better,   
lass. M'name's Betty, by the way. If you ever need anything, just   
come ask me, I spend most of me time here in the kitchen, or in the   
drawing room just through that door," she pointed. "Or you could ask   
Samuel if you like," she continued, as I tried to keep up. It had   
been months since I had had a conversation, and this woman spoke   
extremely quickly. "Samuel's the groundskeeper. Well, really he's a   
bit of everything. He does odd jobs, and helps keep the place   
running. Wonderful man, Samuel is."  
  
She finally stopped to take a breath, and I looked round to the door   
the black-haired man had left by.   
  
"Where did he go?" I asked quietly.  
  
Betty looked at me in surprise. Then again, then wide grin split her   
face. "You haven't quite caught up yet, have you lass. He'll be off   
somewhere working himself to the bone. He buries himself away in a   
room and stays there for days, working on one thing or another."  
  
I nodded, then eyed the woman fearfully, before I asked my next   
question. "What does he want with me?"  
  
Betty shook her head. "I honestly don't know, lass. He keeps a lot   
to himself, and I daren't ask him too many questions. He doesn't   
like it, you know. Still, I'm sure he has his reasons, and that's   
what matters."  
  
I fell silent, my eyes wandering slowly over the wooden table top   
while I thought about this. Confusion set in again - I still had no   
idea where I was and even less idea why I was here - and I closed my   
eyes to try and shut out the fear and agony that tried to rise   
within me.  
  
I heard a sigh from Betty "Well, look, I'll leave y'alone, okay?   
Y'must be tired out." She rose from her stool and shuffled back   
towards the kitchen. "If y'like, why don't you take a walk in the   
gardens. It's real pretty out there this time of year. Maybe it'll   
calm your thoughts a wee bit." I nodded without looking up, and   
stayed where I was until I heard the door close quietly, and silence   
descended on the room.  
  
I spent most of that day in my room, hiding under my covers and   
taking long showers, though I never felt quite as clean as I had   
when I first woke that morning. I didn't see the man again all day,   
even when I went down to dinner. When I asked Betty about it, she   
said that he was working on something important, and couldn't be   
disturbed. As I went up to bed that night, it occurred to me that I   
didn't even know his name.  
  
Strange. He seemed to remind me of someone. I just couldn't place   
who.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Darien~~  
At last I have a name to hate. The creature that keeps us here is   
called Shendor. They do not speak to us much, but by eavesdropping   
when I can, I have gathered little bits of information. There are   
eleven of them altogether, with Shendor as their leader. They have   
been watching us for years, waiting until they could strike against   
us successfully. It seems they did their planning well. This is the   
first time anyone has defeated us . . .  
  
They have discovered how much Serena cares about me, and have begun   
to take their revenge on me, as well as her, though I suspect it is   
merely to make her suffer by seeing me hurt. I am almost grateful   
for the pain, for it relieves some of my guilt . . .  
  
I try to keep up the appearance of hope, to help Serena as much as   
possible. She sees through me sometimes, sees the pain inside, but   
strangely, it makes her smile. She says it proves to her that I   
still care for her. My heart melted when she told me that, and it is   
for that reason that I am in two minds over our captivity.   
  
Everything logical says it is hopeless, that there is no way out,   
but some seed within me refuses to believe that we are lost. If she   
can still look at me with such brightness and love, then surely   
there is a chance of our survival, and I will *not* give up!  
I sigh. I'm just too stubborn, I suppose.  
  
The chains around my wrists and ankles seem heavier every day. I   
have tried everything to get them off, smashing them against the   
walls, tearing at the locks, even to the point of almost dislocating   
my own wrists.  
  
I *know* this is not hopeless.   
  
And yet the cold stone walls suffocate me, telling me that it is.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
~~Mina~~  
I was afraid to open my eyes when I awoke that second morning. Had   
the day before merely been a dream, or had I actually been delivered   
from my hell? Even before I opened my eyes, however, the warm scents   
of the garden below my window had filled the room, and I teased   
myself with the anticipation of seeing that bright glow of the sun   
streaming over my bed. But when I opened my eyes, my heart still   
skipped a beat at the joy of it. I dressed quickly, then crept   
quietly down to the kitchen in bare feet.   
  
A night of restful sleep had removed some of my fears from the   
previous day, and with the morning light, I chose to accept this   
apparent deliverance for what it was, and to stop second guessing   
every kind gesture passed my way.   
  
Though, I admit, I was still nervous about seeing the dark-haired   
man again. I had been thinking about him all yesterday, and was   
still completely mystified by who he was.   
  
I cautiously pushed open the kitchen door, and again those icy blue   
eyes made me freeze on the spot. He sat where he had been the day   
before, an empty plate before him, the same gentle surprise on his   
face. "Good morning." He gestured to a seat across the table.   
"Please, sit down."   
  
I stayed staring at him for a time, until I finally realised I had   
to move, and, never taking my eyes from his, I tiptoed to the   
opposite side of the table, perching on the very edge of my chair.   
All my earlier boldness had fled, and I once again fell into nervous   
thoughts of his intentions for me.  
  
Betty immediately brought me a plate of food, more than I had been   
given yesterday, and smiled as I began picking at it. Again, I felt   
the man's gaze on me, but today, I couldn't help looking up at him.   
He smiled at me gently, and I felt something within me give   
slightly. I relaxed a little.  
  
Taking a deep breath, I ventured, "Excuse me, um, Sir?"  
The title seemed to amuse him, but he nodded. "What is it, Mina?"  
I felt a cool thrill as he said my name - I had not heard it in so   
long - and I managed a slight smile. "Uh, what . . . um, I was just   
wondering . . . what's your name?"  
  
He regarded me in silence for a moment. "Kaylin."  
  
His tone of voice seemed suddenly cold, and I wondered if I had done   
something wrong. I turned back to my meal. But the silence was   
oppressive, and I felt the need to break it. He had seemed friendly   
when I came in. Perhaps it had been my imagination that he snapped   
at me. "Where were you yesterday?"  
  
"I was working." He did not look at me. I waited for him to   
continue, but he seemed to regard that as the end of the   
conversation. I finished my meal in silence.  
  
When Kaylin finally left the table, Betty again came and sat with   
me, smiling warmly while I sipped my tea. I chewed my lip in silence   
for a time, before I dared to say anything.   
  
"Kaylin doesn't like me, does he," I muttered, staring at the floor.   
But to my surprise, Betty laughed.   
  
"Ah, child. He likes you better than he likes most people, believe   
me. He just doesn't like to be questioned. He'll tell you everything   
when he's ready to, and not a moment before." She sighed. "He's just   
so damn stubborn," I heard her mutter under her breath. "Just like   
his brother." I cringed. I hoped I would never have to meet his   
brother.  
  
The following days proceeded in much the same way. I was free to   
wander the house and gardens, and I spent a great deal of time   
outside. I found a quiet corner of the garden surrounded by small   
trees of a bright green, and spent many hours sitting there. Samuel   
and Betty were my main company, though I spent much of my time   
alone. Samuel turned out to be a wiry man about 40 years old, and as   
Betty said, he did a bit of everything, from mending the fence to   
exercising the four horses that Kaylin kept in a long stable.   
I saw Kaylin infrequently, and he often seemed very tired, though he   
offered no explanation as to why.   
  
I was well cared for, my wounds attended to daily, sometimes by   
Betty, and other times, by Kaylin himself. He was incredibly gentle,   
and I never felt much pain when he dressed my cuts, but he remained   
aloof, his rough demeanour demanding my silence, and I felt a   
growing resentment for him.   
  
I did not even consider leaving, for I knew too well that I had no   
where to go, and no idea where I was to begin with, and yet I felt a   
growing need for some answers - Who was he? Why had he rescued me?   
How had he known I was in need of rescue?  
  
But my thoughts were not confined to myself and Kaylin. As time   
passed, I began to wonder about my friends. Where were they? Were   
they still suffering? Were they still alive?! And most importantly,   
could I help them escape?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
My thought were still a jumble of confusion later that evening. I   
was sitting curled up on the couch, trying to read a book while my   
mind refused to pay attention to it. Possibilities raced through my   
mind, but I knew I couldn't do anything for my friends without   
getting some answers from Kaylin first, and I knew *that* would not   
be coming anytime soon. Not the least of my problems was that it   
seemed impossible to pin him down for more than five minutes - I had   
rarely seen him outside of breakfast times.   
  
But to my surprise, Kaylin came into the living room that night. I   
looked up from my book to stare at him while he stood by the open   
fire, warming his hands with his back to me, still dressed in the   
same black clothes he always wore.   
  
He stood there for several minutes, seemingly oblivious to my   
presence, until he finally turned to me. Those same crystal-blue   
eyes trapped me in their gaze for a moment, until he spoke to me,   
for the first time in two days.  
  
"How are you this evening, Mina?"   
  
Affronted, I dropped my book to the floor. "You mean you actually   
care?"  
  
His surprise was painfully clear, and I immediately regretted the   
harsh words, but by then a burst of anger had risen within me, and I   
was powerless to stop it. "You bring me here in the middle of the   
night, you haven't told me where I am, or even why I'm here, you   
disappear for days on end, you won't answer my questions and then   
you pretend to care about me? That's not good enough! How dare you   
lie to me like that! I hate you!!"  
  
Somehow I had crossed the floor to where he stood, and now I shouted   
into his face, while his initial surprise had faded to a stealthy   
calm. But even as the accusations flew, it was as if someone else   
was shouting them, while I hid inside myself and cringed with every   
harsh word. I was in two minds about the whole thing. Though I   
screamed at Kaylin, I knew it wasn't him I was angry with. He was   
merely a scapegoat for all the bottled up emotions I had held since   
my capture by the Reformation. And here, in his deep, unyielding   
gaze, was my only source of release.  
  
He stood quietly as I pounded his shoulders with my fists, my thin   
arms having no effect on his hard muscle, watching me with gentle   
eyes before he finally took hold of my flailing arms, holding me   
still. I was powerless to fight against him, and as a wave of regret   
went through me, my body went limp.   
  
I never fell though, for he caught me as my knees collapsed, and   
carried me to the couch, holding me against him while I cried a   
flood of sobs that were a combination of fear and relief into his   
shoulder.  
  
I tried to apologise for my angry words as I cried, telling him I   
had not meant them, and I had only said them because I was scared -   
but he was not angry. He merely held me and stroked my back and   
whispered "I know, Mina. It's all right. I understand."  
  
And finally my breathing slowed, and I closed my eyes under the   
gentle caress of his hands, his black shirt like satin against my   
tear-stained cheek. I believe I fell asleep in his arms that night,   
and he must have carried me up to my room, for I do not remember   
ever having climbed the stairs. . .  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I awoke the next morning, and Kaylin was no where to be found. I   
wondered about this all through breakfast, and into mid morning   
before I dared ask Betty about it.  
  
She looked at me in fear when I asked, and instantly busied herself   
in the kitchen again. Then, just as suddenly, she stopped, took a   
deep breath and turned to me. "Mina, dear." She paused. "Kaylin had   
to go somewhere today. Don't bother asking where because I don't   
know. He left early this morning, said he had somewhere important to   
go."  
  
Something in her voice made my stomach turn, and for some bizarre   
reason, I found myself asking, "Is he going to come back?"  
  
Betty would not look at me. "I hope so," she muttered to the wall.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Narrator~~  
In the darkness of a moonless night, a black figure ran swiftly and   
silently through a barren camp. Passing by the entrance to a mine,   
the figure paused, then vanished into the entrance when a patrol of   
two guards strode past. Once their footsteps had faded, the figure   
again emerged wraith-like from the shadows, slinking across the   
rocky soil to a distant building.  
  
Inside the dungeon complex, the guards dozed fitfully, guns dangling   
from their relaxed hands while they snored. Without so much as a   
murmur, a window high up in the wall slid open, and an ethereal   
shadow slipped through the gap, dropping soundlessly to the floor.   
It paused a moment, then began working its way along the row of   
cells, searching for something, it seemed. Finally, it reached a door   
about halfway along the row, and stopped. Drawing out a small pick   
from the folds of its cloak, it released the lock with a muted   
clink, and the door swung open. Moments later, the figure emerged   
again from the cell, carrying a limp figure, about the size of a   
girl. Reaching the window again, both shadow and girl vanished into   
the night.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Mina~~   
I could not sleep that night. I turned over and over in my bed,   
wondering where Kaylin was, and if he would return. Why would he   
just leave like that? Where did he have to go? Why wouldn't he have   
told me before he went? And frighteningly, had I caused his   
departure by my outburst the night before? If this was my fault . . .  
My nightmarish thoughts were finally interrupted at around 1:00am.   
Shouting reached my ears, and for a horrific moment, I thought I was   
back in my dungeon. But as I sat up, I recognised Kaylin's voice,   
calling for Betty, and for Samuel. A door slammed, followed by more   
shouting, and I was on my feet by then, running down the corridor in   
only my nightgown. I was halfway to the stairs when Kaylin appeared   
at the top of them, a limp girl in his arms. Even in the dim light   
it was obvious that she was bleeding, and I quickly followed his   
instructions, rushing to open the door to another bedroom, then   
grabbing a roll of gauze and a basin of warm water from the   
bathroom. On my way back to the bedroom, I met Samuel, carrying a   
medical kit, and we ran together down the hall. Betty had the lights   
on by the time I returned, and I set the basin down on a stool,   
cringing as I saw the blood on Kaylin's arms. I turned back to the   
bed, to see if I could help him with the girl.  
  
And my heart stopped. AMI!  
  
I screamed once, short and sharp, then Samuel had me, literally   
dragging me from the room as I clawed at him to get to my friend.   
Betty shut the door behind us, and I collapsed onto the hallway   
floor, screaming hysterically at Samuel to let me go. Despite my   
weakened state, it cost him an effort to hold me there, and I   
actually bit him to free myself. He did not relent, however.  
  
He stubbornly shook his head through my tirade. "No, Mina, you must   
calm down. You cannot help her by this madness!"  
  
I swore at him, and aimed a kick at his groin. He was too quick   
though, and had me pinned against the wall before I could do him any   
further injury.  
  
Again, I cursed my own weakness as he overpowered me, and I slid to   
the floor breathing hard, trying to keep the sobs deep down in my   
throat, not letting them escape. Fortunately, some shred of my mind   
was still working rationally, and by sheer force of will I slowed my   
breathing, and regained control over my shaking limbs. Without   
looking up, I demanded to be let back into the room. Samuel took his   
time in looking me over, while my mind screamed silently, then after   
what seemed to be an age, he finally released me, and helped me to   
my feet.   
  
"All right. Go see her."  
  
I opened the door and walked stiffly across the room. Gritting my   
teeth, I looked up at my friend, unconscious on the bed. I had to   
swallow several times to keep myself from vomiting. With quaking   
hands, I pulled a stool up to the bed, on the opposite side to   
Kaylin, and managed to sit down before my legs gave way.  
  
I cannot describe the suffering I saw as I gazed at her. Blood   
leaked from her legs, darkening the white sheets almost to black;   
her face was covered in abrasions; one eye had a deep cut beneath   
it; her arms were bruised, thick green and purple welts covering   
them; her ribs showed plainly through her skin, which was a pale   
yellow; the more I looked, the more I saw the endless pain she must   
have endured.  
  
Kaylin ignored me as I sat there, his face serious as he worked to   
stop her bleeding.   
  
"Kaylin?" I whispered.  
  
"Hm?" he grunted.  
  
"Is... is she... in pain?"  
  
Kaylin shook his head. "I sedated her," he replied, pointing to a   
used syringe beside him. Suddenly, he looked up at me. "Help me turn   
her over onto her front," he ordered.  
  
I leapt up eagerly, and carefully turned to limp girl, muttering   
soothing words to her though I knew she couldn't hear me. Kaylin   
immediately turned his attention to an open wound on her leg.   
Probing the blackened skin with his fingers, he swore quietly.   
  
"Samuel, get me a surgery pack."  
  
I glanced furtively between the wound and his face. "What's wrong?"  
Kaylin's lips were pressed into a tight line. "She has a bullet in   
her leg," he muttered quietly. "Must have been there for weeks."  
I gasped, but Kaylin remained calm, his face like a stone mask as he   
began to open the wound, draining the infection and drawing the   
bullet slowly out.   
  
It must have been hours that we sat there. My eyes ached from lack of   
sleep, but I was determined to stay with my friend as all costs.   
Kaylin ignored me for the most part, but every now and then he would   
glance up at me, his gaze lingering on my face before turning back to   
his patient, his gentle hands resuming their careful task of   
cleansing and treating her wounds. Finally, in the early hours of the   
morning, he stopped, looking me over sharply, his keen eyes almost   
fierce as he noted my exhaustion.  
  
"Go to bed, Mina."  
  
I looked back into his tired, bloodshot eyes, and shook my head. "I'd   
rather stay here and help you." For reasons I didn't understand, this   
seemed to please him. His eyes lost some of their fierceness, glowing   
almost warmly behind his dark lashes, and he silently went back to   
his work.  
  
It was hours before he had finished treating all her wounds,   
sometimes asking for my help; to hold her arm while he bandaged it,   
or to prepare a gauze while he disinfected a wound.  
  
But finally Ami slept undisturbed, though I couldn't say she was at   
peace. It was a drug induced sleep, which, frankly, was all I felt   
she was likely to get at this stage.  
  
"Go to bed, Mina." It was the first time he had spoken in over an   
hour, and I looked up at him blearily. He looked as tired as I felt,   
but I shook my head. "I want to stay with her. . ."  
  
"Mina. You can't do anything for her now. Get some sleep, and you can   
see to her in the morning." I refrained from pointing out that it was   
now 5:00 am and therefore already morning. Instead, I nodded,   
shuffling off down the hall to my room, falling into a troubled sleep   
even before my head had hit the pillow.  
  
I woke several hours later - it was 9:27 by the clock beside my bed,   
and I immediately got up and ran down the corridor to Ami's room. To   
my surprise, the door was already open when I got there, and, curious,   
I peered around the corner.   
  
Kaylin was already at Ami's side, wiping her face with a damp cloth   
while she mumbled in her sleep. Kaylin was whispering soothing words   
to her, but she still moaned, her arms trembling by her sides. I was   
instantly at her side, holding her hand. "Shh, Ami. I'm here. You're   
safe now, my love." Miraculously, she seemed to quieten a little.   
"You should have woken me," I told Kaylin, my voice barely over a   
whisper.   
  
Kaylin looked at me apologetically. "I looked in on you earlier, but   
you were fast asleep. It seemed cruel to wake you."  
  
I looked back at Ami. "Is she still sedated?"  
  
Kaylin shook his head. "No, she's coming out of it. I'd like her to   
wake up as soon as possible. I've asked Betty to bring up some   
breakfast, so you can stay with her if you like."  
  
I couldn't hide my surprise. I had been sure he was going to send me   
away again. Kaylin, though, offered no explanation for his sudden   
change of heart, and merely offered me a gentle smile. I smiled back.  
  
It was a little over an hour later before I left the room again,   
hurrying to dress before my friend awoke. I was on my way back to her   
room when I heard a muffled scream, and I was at her door again in a   
split second.  
  
If I had thought a sedated Ami was a terrifying sight, it was worse   
now that she was awake. She sat bolt upright in her bed, staring   
about the room as if regarding Hell itself. Tears rose in her eyes,   
and fear showed plainly as the salty liquid spilled forth. I stumbled   
to her side, not even sure if she knew I was there.   
  
"Ami?" I whispered. I reached out to gently stroke her shoulder, and   
it took her a moment to respond. Slowly, she turned to face me, her   
eyes wide and blank.  
  
"Mina?" Her voice was distant, and it echoed hollowly across the   
room.  
  
"Yes, Ami. I'm here." I squeezed her hand gently, and she looked down   
at it, her frightened gaze relaxing as reality filtered through her   
mind. Then her blue eyes filled with tears.   
  
"Oh, Mina," she croaked softly. "Mina, no." She shook her head   
slowly, gazing at me with sorrowful eyes. "Oh, Mina. You are still so   
beautiful." She reached up a shaking hand to run down my face, as if   
making sure I was real. Then her hand fell limply to her side. "Oh,   
but Mina, this is only a dream. This can only be a dream. I've   
dreamed of seeing you so often. And seeing our friends. And I had so   
often wished it was real. But it's not real, is it, Mina. This is   
only a dream, and when I wake, I'll be alone again." The small girl   
shuddered in my arms, and I reached down to cradle my friend's head   
against my chest, rocking with her as she sobbed. Tears squeezed out   
of my own eyes, as I lacked the words to tell her she was truly safe.   
As I looked about the room, in this strange house I had been   
delivered to, with its mysterious man who would not let me become his   
friend, I honestly didn't know if this *was* safety, or if this was   
merely some more bizarre version of hell.   
  
Finally, Kaylin rose from his seat by the desk. Ami had neither   
acknowledged nor cared that he was there, and he now walked quietly   
to the door, giving us the privacy I so desired. But just as he was   
leaving, I turned to him.  
  
"Kaylin?"   
  
The tall man turned in the doorway. "Yes?"  
  
"Thank you." I whispered, as tears came once again to my eyes. "I   
can't tell you how grateful I am to have Ami here." I held my friend   
tighter, though the blue-haired girl did not respond.  
Kaylin did not reply.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Darien~~  
My heart aches as I watch her huddled figure in the darkness. My dear   
Serena. How could I have failed you...  
  
My eyes close and I am suddenly very tired. These chains weigh down   
my spirit more than my body, and I find I want nothing more than to   
die. Perhaps I *could* die...  
  
But as I rest in that half way place between waking and sleep, a   
figure appears before me. Cloaked in a black hood, I saw only his   
eyes through the blackness. Eyes so blue it seemed that ice flowed in   
them.   
  
I stood completely still in that dreamland place, staring at those   
eyes. As I watched, the figure knelt before me. "Endymion..."  
  
My eyes snapped open, my breath coming in close gasps as my heart   
pounded. What the...?  
  
I calmed myself, then saw Serena lying on the filthy floor as she had   
been since they brought her back this evening. Serena. . .  
I lay down again, and once more seeking the oblivion of sleep, I   
reached out to that cloaked figure again. I sent out a desperate   
message to him. Help us!  
  



	4. Rekindling the Fire

When I Wake, Will I Find You There?  
By Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
  
I have made up some characters. All original Sailor Moon characters   
belong to whatever individuals/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 3 - Rekindling the Fire  
  
  
~~Rei~~  
  
Defeat is not something I have ever been accustomed to. I am of the   
opinion that something is always better than nothing, and if you have   
something, then you are not beaten. And that is where I find myself   
now. I have something. I have hope.  
  
That is all I have left. Because my strength is gone, my will, my   
fire and even my anger have all been stripped away. I am left with   
two things. Hope and pain.  
  
Rei.  
  
I ignore the voice from my dreams. Even my own thoughts have stopped   
tormenting me now, replaced by this quiet voice that calls from the   
darkness and promises to bring me light. Whatever it wants, it will   
have to come to me, or leave me be. I am too weak to move, and now my   
hope has fallen on death. I hope to die.  
  
Rei.  
  
I can almost smile at the voice. It is comforting. Comforting because   
it comes to me without effort, and so I imagine it *is* from the   
outside world. Like I said, I have hope, and I will not let that be   
destroyed.  
  
Rei.  
  
"Come for me then!" I shouted at the voice. "Come for me, Dark   
Knight, and take me away from here!"  
  
The voice, it seemed, was laughing at me. Ah, Rei. You call upon   
that which you do not believe in and expect it to humour you.   
I sighed against the cold floor.   
  
Well. Perhaps I will.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Mina~~  
I suppose I should not have expected Kaylin to stay long after that.   
Ami had been with us for barely three days before he vanished again,   
leaving in the middle of the night with no word explaining where he   
was going, or why. I was less nervous about him leaving this time,   
but my heart thundered at the prospect of his return. Would he be   
bringing another of my friends? Or was this merely an errand run,   
from which he would return empty handed? Betty, as usual, either   
didn't know or wouldn't tell me, and my days again descended into   
quiet monotony. It was not a complaint, though. The rhythmic ebb and   
flow of the daily routine was altogether a relief from the harsh   
battles I had fought of late.  
  
With Kaylin gone, Ami was left solely in my care, and my hours were   
filled with the tasks of cleansing her wounds, preparing her food and   
attempting to sooth her when her frightened questions became too   
much.  
  
During the first few days, I had little hope that Ami would *ever*   
recover. She refused to leave her room, hardly ate and was terrified   
of going to sleep at night, claiming that this was a wonderful dream,   
and if she went to sleep, she would naturally have to wake again, and   
would find herself back in her dungeon. Kaylin had left me with very   
specific instructions not to use any sedatives on the poor girl, and   
so I was forced to simply sit up with her of a night, until sheer   
exhaustion forced her into sleep. She would then wake several times   
through the night, screaming, declaring her hatred for everything   
around her until I managed to calm her, then we would begin the whole   
cycle again.  
  
It was no burden to me though. I went willingly to her side every   
time, and as much as she seemed to be suffering now, I was comforted   
by the fact that I knew it was less than she would be suffering had   
she not been brought here.   
  
Betty was a great help through the whole time, as my own strength was   
not completely restored, and I was immensely grateful for her   
company. She reminded me of Serena in some ways - though Betty was   
over forty years old - she was eternally optimistic and flowing over   
with life and constantly making me realise how grateful I was to have   
been given a second chance. And gradually, my own nightmares of dark,   
damp places began to fade. . .  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
~~Rei~~  
  
Rei.  
  
"Huh?"   
  
Rei!  
  
I dragged myself groggily awake, wondering if I had imagined that   
voice. I had heard nothing for days, almost having convinced myself   
that I had been hallucinating. But now the voice came back, so clear,   
so close now. . .  
  
It is time, Princess of Mars. Do not be afraid.  
  
'Princess of Mars?!!' He knew I was the Princess of Mars?? How did he   
know that? I sighed. What did it matter anyway? Before I could think   
any more, I felt my eyes closing again, sleep working effortlessly   
through my mind. I was always so tired now. So very tired. If I could   
just sleep. . .  
  
But suddenly, a searing light ripped through my head, and I jerked   
awake. He was here! Here in this house! I could feel him so clearly.   
Some hugely powerful creature, forcing its way down through the rooms   
to my cell. And then came the screaming. Crash after crash echoed   
through the house, the clang of metal on metal, the screams of men   
dying, men fleeing, the cursing of men fighting. As the sound came   
closer, words reached my ears.  
  
"Devil! What manner of creature are you?"  
  
"Fiend! Sorcerer!"  
  
"Stop, creature of Hell. Or I'll . . ." The voice ended abruptly, and   
I smiled as I thought of that particular guard. He deserved to die.  
"Run for your lives! Run! Run for your . . ." A dim choking sound cut   
off that cry, and despite my anticipation of this creature's arrival,   
I felt a cool thrill of fear run up my spine. What was this thing   
coming for me?  
  
My fear grew as I listened. Outside my door, the sounds of battle   
faded, and as the last screams died, a cold silence descended on the   
entire house. For long moments, I listened to that silence, while my   
heartbeat pounded in my ears. Could every other creature in this   
house be dead? Was I the sole survivor of this creature's wrath? The   
silence grew long, and cold tears escaped my eyes.  
  
-clink-  
My eyes opened wide, then wider, as I shot backwards across the   
floor. I winced. I didn't know I still had the strength to do that,   
but it was definitely a mistake. My body stung terribly from the   
movement . . . but my attention was quickly returned to the doorway.   
I had not heard the door open, and yet there it stood, wide open, a   
black figure standing in the dim space. A faceless, featureless   
figure, shrouded in an ebony cloak, coming out of the darkness to me.  
And instantly, I knew who he was.  
  
Death I thought. My heart fluttered once, then a gentle calm   
settled over me. Come Death, and welcome. I have been waiting for   
you.  
  
Shrouded in its black cloak, the figure stepped forward, its   
footsteps tapping on the cold stone floor like a metronome. It bent   
down beside me, gathering my useless body into its arms.   
  
"Yes, Dark Knight," I whispered to it as my head fell on its   
shoulder. "I am yours."  
  
Strangely, it replied to me. "No, Princess of Mars," it said. "You   
are not."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Mina~~  
Three days went by before I even thought of Kaylin again. And then I   
could not stop. I had, in the back of my mind, been quietly   
anticipating his arrival, and it was with some shock that I realised   
it had not come.   
  
As the morning of that third day wore into the afternoon, I felt a   
rising unease, which I tried not to think about too hard. But in   
quiet moments around the house, dark thoughts crept up on me. Had he   
abandoned me? Was the delay because he *could* not return, and had,   
like the rest of my friends, fallen into enemy hands? Had he been   
injured, and was unable to travel? Was he even still alive? I tried   
to banish these thought from my mind, but they returned to me over   
and over, and once again, a cold despair began to slip back into my   
life.  
  
~~Ami~~  
I have dreamed a thousand times of the Reformation, of my captor and   
of the nightmarish things that went on in my life then. But there is   
only one dream I remember in detail, distinguishing it from the rest.   
It is because that is the dream that changed my life:  
  
I dreamed I was in the park, sitting by the lake on a bright summer's   
day. As I watched, the sky clouded over suddenly, and I felt freezing   
cold, so cold I couldn't move my limbs at all. I tried to run, but   
vines grew up out of the ground, wrapping around my legs, and I fell   
onto the hard concrete. Then I realised I wasn't in the park at all,   
but in a dungeon, screaming for someone to help me. I looked out the   
window, and I could see the park. It was still out there, but it was   
grey, clouded over and lightning crackled across the sky. Then I   
heard someone calling my name. "Ami? Ami, where are you?"  
  
Greg! I tried to call out to him, but I couldn't find my voice, and   
his name came out only as a moan. He heard me, though, and turned to   
look for me. I tried calling out again, this time with more success.   
"Grreeeeegggg!"  
  
He looked up, and ran to me, pounding on the door of my dungeon,   
screaming at the guards to let him in. "Ami! Ami, I'm coming! Wait   
for me, Ami!"  
  
The door wouldn't open though, and I began to pound on it with my   
fists, beating them until blood ran down my wrists and my skin was   
scraped raw. . .  
  
With a jerk, the dream changed suddenly. I was sitting up in a bed. I   
looked around. Ah yes, I knew this room. I seemed to dream about this   
place very often. The thick red carpet on the floor, and the soft   
white sheet. Mina was always here, and a maid called Betty. . . and   
yes, here was Mina again, coming in the door, letting in the light   
from the hallway. . . strange that I should dream of Mina so often,   
when the rest of my friends hardly entered my dreams any more.  
She came across the room as she always did, holding my hand and   
trying to put her arm around me, but I didn't want Mina. "No, go   
away," I told her. "I want Greg."  
  
"No, Ami," she muttered softly, but I wouldn't listen.   
  
"I want Greg!" I shouted.  
  
She held me close, as I tried to fend her off. "Greg isn't here,   
Ami."  
  
I stopped struggling at that. "What?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Ami," she repeated. "Greg isn't here."  
  
I pulled away from her. Of course he was here. This was *my* dream. I   
could do what I liked with it. "Why not?" I demanded.  
  
The sorrow in her eyes hit me like a glacier. She didn't reply, just   
shook her head as tears welled up in them.  
  
I stared at her silently, all speech broken from my lips as I   
realised, for the first time, how very often I had woken in this same   
room. This room that had become so familiar, like. . . like it was   
real. I backed away, staring at Mina as if seeing her for the first   
time. Her face was pale, her eyes drawn from lack of sleep, and her   
hair was bedraggled. Evidently I had just pulled her from her   
bed . . . again.   
  
Like a statue, I stared at the room. Each detail hit me like a ton of   
bricks in that dim light, the light from the hallway barely allowing   
me to see the shapes of the room. But it was all so clear. My hands   
were shaking as I sat there, cold with fear and with sweat pouring   
off my face. And I understood for the first time what Mina had been   
trying to tell me all along.  
  
This was real.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Rei~~  
  
The pain is gone was the first thing I thought when I awoke.   
Cautiously, I tried to open my eyes and turn my head, dreading that   
the stabbing agony that surrounded my life would return. But as I   
gazed up into the soft morning light, I found with relief, that it   
did not.  
  
Gradually, the room around me came into focus. I don't know what I   
expected to see, but this was not it. Above me was a low ceiling,   
made of thatched straw, and by turning my head, I could see the   
wooden panels of the walls. I lay on the floor, a thin mattress   
beneath me, and warm blankets covering me from neck to foot. Where   
was I?  
  
Blinking, I turned to look the other way, and was not overly   
surprised to see a dark figure hunched over a low fire. The hood of   
his black cloak was thrown back, and from where I lay, I could just   
make out his profile. Suddenly, he tensed, though he did not look   
round.  
  
You are awake, Rei.  
  
My eyes opened wide. I had not dared use telepathy since those weeks   
I spent in torment, while my mind tortured me with words of my own   
failure. But some unspoken encouragement urged me to try now.  
Steeling myself, I delved briefly into my powers. Yes. I am   
awake.  
  
He glanced over his shoulder at me, a crooked smile on his lips.   
I'll be with you in a minute.  
  
For some unknown reason, I blushed. Suddenly, I realised how hot I   
was under the blankets and I tried to push some of them away, but   
found I couldn't move my arm. I tried again, but my limbs simply   
would not respond. Why couldn't I move? Had he bound me here? Was I   
trapped? A mew of distress escaped my lips.   
  
"Don't try to move." I looked up at the man wide eyed, amazed to find   
him crouched next to me suddenly. "What's wrong?" he asked gently.  
  
"Uh, I . . ." I began, working hard to find my voice. I cleared my   
throat. "I'm too hot," I managed to croak out.  
  
He nodded, and reached out to fold the blanket down, but my fear   
remained. What had happened to me? Why couldn't I move? Seeing my   
distress, he placed a warm hand on my arm. "Don't move, Rei. You were   
badly injured, and you're very weak. It'll be a long time before your   
muscles repair themselves.  
  
"But. . . but I could move yesterday," I told him adamantly. "When   
you came into the dungeon. I moved then!"  
  
A sadness came into his eyes, and his hand tightened slightly on my   
wrist. "That was not yesterday, Rei. I rescued you four days ago."   
His voice was low and apologetic. "You've been unconscious ever   
since."  
  
My jaw dropped. Four days?! How could that be? "Am. . . am I . . ."   
I gulped. "Am I going to be all right?"  
  
He smiled gently at me. "I think you are. So long as you don't try to   
wear yourself out, and you manage to eat something. Are you hungry?"   
  
I nodded.  
  
He gently reached down and lifted me into a sitting position. I   
glanced down and was shocked to see the frail, bony limbs where my   
arms should have been. Had I really become so pathetically weak??  
Supporting me, he held a bowl to my lips, telling me to drink. It was   
a thin, meaty broth, and though I tried to swallow all I could, some   
of the liquid dribbled down my chin, messing on the blanket. The man   
was extremely patient though, letting me sip it as slowly as I liked,   
until I had drunk it all, and never saying a word at my clumsiness.   
I was amazed at the composed tenderness he had - a stark contrast to   
the brazen man who had stormed into my dungeon days before. And all   
at once, I realised my mistake. This man, this fiendish creature in   
the darkness, was not Death. He was my saviour. Faintly, I wondered   
why he had come for me, and who had told him I needed his help. But   
in that moment, I decided not to ask him any questions. It did not   
matter. He had saved my life, and that was enough for me.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Mina~~  
I'm not sure what happened to Ami that night, when she woke from her   
dreams and demanded to see Greg. All I know is that the improvement   
was dramatic. In the morning, as the sun swept in through the trees   
beyond her window, she turned to me with fearful, excited eyes.  
  
"Mina?"  
  
I smiled gently at her. "Yes, my love."  
  
She bit her lip, her eyes flickering across the bed and floor. "Could   
I go down stairs?" Her lip quivered, and her eyes instantly filled   
with fear and doubt.   
  
My jaw dropped. All she had done in the past was try to hide in this   
one room, screaming if anyone tried to move her. And now, she wanted   
to go downstairs. . . Through my surprise, I managed to smile, and   
reached out to hold her hand. "Of course, Ami. Do you want to go   
now?"  
  
She nodded, biting her lower lip, and hesitantly, she eased out of   
bed. A robe identical to the one in my room hung on the back of the   
door and I gently helped her put it on. Her wounds were still sore,   
so our progress was slow, but gradually, I helped her shuffle down   
the hallway, and finally, we made it to the bottom of the stairs. Ami   
stared at everything in wonder, an irrepressible grin on her face   
while tears brimmed in her eyes. Our ultimate destination was the   
kitchen, and Ami clung to the wall while I opened the door.  
I have never seen Betty smile quite so much as she did when Ami   
finally limped into the kitchen. The grin positively split her face,   
and she rushed to pull out a chair for her, her burst of cheerful   
conversation hindered for only moments while she was held speechless   
in surprise.   
  
"Oh Ami! My dear child, you *are* a sight to be seen! You're shinin'   
brighter than the sun, I say. Do you know, when I got up this mornin'   
I said to myself, 'Betty, I know it's goin' t'be a special day now!'   
And what do you think! I was right, I say. Oh, my dear child, I'll   
fix you some breakfast, y'must be starvin' hungry. Oh, what a day!"  
I had to suppress a chuckle as Ami stared at the woman in   
bewilderment, finding her incessant chatter as incomprehensible as I   
had done that first day. I couldn't keep the grin off my face,   
though. Ami, it seemed, was finally recovering, and I could not have   
been happier.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Narrator~~  
On the back of a brilliant black stallion, a cloaked figure breathed   
heavily, trying fruitlessly to shake the rain from his eyes. He   
squinted into the bleakness ahead, just managing to make out the road   
as it wound between rocky outcrops and hidden gullies, before   
wrapping his aching arms once again around the raven-haired woman   
huddled in front of him. A great, shuddering sigh heaved at his chest   
as his horse plodded on, and he gritted his teeth against the wind. A   
gust blew under his hood suddenly, ripping it from his face as a   
blast of icy air choked his lungs. His fierce blue eyes flared with   
pure ice, and amazingly, in the face of such adversity, the storm   
faltered a moment.   
  
Then the wind resumed, the cloaked figure pulled his hood back over   
his head, and the battle continued.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
-The following day-  
  
~~Mina~~  
"There's your tea, lass. Nice'n hot." I smiled at Betty as she set a   
cup before me, and then finished clearing away our breakfast dishes.   
When she was done, the grinning woman came to sit beside me at the   
table. "Now, where's the little precious this mornin'?"  
  
I shook my head. "Ami's still asleep. I..." I paused as a   
thunderclap shook the room. The storm had been going on all night,   
and morning had not yet brought any relief from it. "I think   
yesterday wore her out a bit. Too much excitement." I smiled weakly.   
"I'll go and check on her in a little while." My smile faded. Perhaps   
I should have been happier that one of my best friends was recovering   
so well, but I couldn't get my mind off Kaylin. Nearly a week had   
gone by, and still he had not returned. Another week while my friends   
suffered. Another week without my Princess. . .  
  
Suddenly, there was a clattering from the front hall, and Betty   
looked up at me. "What on Earth could that be?" she asked.  
I shook my head, and both of us hurried out to the front door. For   
the third time in two weeks, my jaw dropped, and I felt my world   
collapse.  
  
Kaylin stood in the doorway, a limp girl in his arms, and I could   
tell at a glance that it was Rei, her long black hair matted into a   
soaking tangle. Samuel appeared from outside, and barked at Betty to   
see to the horse while he took Rei from Kaylin's shaking arms. I was   
about to head up the stairs after them when, to my horror, I saw   
Kaylin stumble, then collapse.  
  
"Kaylin!" I ran to him, catching him about the shoulders to stop him   
falling all the way, and I winced at the icy rain dripping off him.   
With urgent movements, I released the ties on his cloak, dragging the   
soaking cloth from him, only to see he was just as wet beneath it. He   
was breathing hard, and seemed barely able to support himself.   
Without thinking, I raced up the stairs, grabbed an armful of towels   
from the bathroom and was back by his side in a moment.   
  
He didn't look at me as I gently rubbed his face and hair, his eyes   
remaining blurrily on the floor. I quickly unbuttoned his shirt, not   
bothering to be embarrassed as I pulled it off and threw a towel   
around him. Outside, the rain intensified, and thunder boomed across   
the sky.   
  
Kaylin was shivering violently, and I could tell, as his breath came   
in ragged gasps, that he was near exhaustion. I shuddered as I   
realised he had been out in the storm all night. I had to get him   
upstairs, and in front of a warm fire, but I doubted he could make it   
on his own.  
  
Instead, I pulled his arm over my shoulder, allowing him to support   
his weight on me. I surprised myself at my own strength as I pulled   
him up, but I realised quite quickly that it wouldn't last long. He   
haltingly followed me up the stairs, stumbling badly before we reached   
the top, but managing to stay on his feet.   
  
His room, due to his absence, had not been heated, so I took him to   
mine instead, allowing him to sink down on the floor in front of the   
fire, pausing a moment to catch my breath.   
  
Rain continued to drip off his hair and face, soaking into the thick   
carpet indifferently. Gently, I cradled his head in my lap, rubbing   
his hair until it was dry, as he shivered himself warm in the heat of   
the fire. Near the end, he reached up to take my hand. "Thank you,   
Mina. I. . ."  
  
"Shh." I hushed him. "Just sleep now." He nodded faintly, and let   
himself relax into the carpet. He breathing quickly deepened, and I   
knew he slept.  
  
Gently, I removed his boots, setting them by the fire to dry, then   
covered the slumbering man with a blanket from my bed. I paused a   
moment to watch him. The hard lines of his face were softened in the   
flickering firelight, and he looked suddenly boyish - young and   
innocent, which I knew he wasn't. I wondered vaguely how old he was...   
Impulsively, I knelt down, and pressed a kiss against his temple.   
"Thank you, Kaylin," I whispered. "Thank you for saving my friends."   
Then quietly, I withdrew from the room, and pulled the door closed   
behind me.  
  
As I stepped back into the hall, I was met with a very surprised,   
though bleary-eyed Ami. "What's happening?" she asked sleepily. "I   
heard voices."   
  
I stared at her a moment, a hesitant smile twisting my lips.   
"Kaylin's back," I told her.  
  
She blinked. "Who?"  
  
For some unknown reason, I blushed. "Kaylin's the man who rescued   
you. He rescued me as well."  
  
"Oh." She replied softly. Then her eyes opened wide as she realised   
the implications of what I had said. "OH! Oh my! What, er, what's he,   
um, what am I going to. . ."  
  
"It's all right, Ami. He's asleep at the moment. Come downstairs to   
the kitchen and I'll tell you everything."  
  
She nodded her head nervously, and limped after me down the stairs.  
Once in the kitchen, I filled her in on everything I knew about   
Kaylin, which, when all was said and done, was even less than I had   
thought it was. In fact, it amounted to little more than that he had   
saved both our lives, and it was his house we now were staying in. I   
described him as best I could, but in the end, I had to tell her   
simply that she would meet him soon enough and leave it at that.  
Then, the harder part, I had to tell her about Rei. As I expected,   
she was shocked, and instantly burst into tears. "Rei? She's here?   
She's safe? Is she all right? Mina? Is she?"  
  
I hugged my friend tightly. "I don't know, Ami. I haven't seen her   
yet. But," I told her boldly, "I think if Kaylin's looking after her,   
she will be all right." I have no idea how I knew that. It seemed no   
amount of effort was too much for the stoic man, and it was simply   
instinct that told me to trust him now.  
  
"Can I see her?"  
  
I looked up in surprise. "You mean, see Rei?" Ami nodded. "Er. . ." I   
fumbled. "I think . . . not right now, Ami. Wait till I've been to   
check on her." Though lame, it was the best excuse I could come up   
with.  
  
Frankly, I was scared of what seeing Rei might do to the poor girl.   
My own reaction to Ami's wounds had been drastic, and I had been in a   
stronger state than Ami was now. But perhaps more frightening was   
what my own reaction would be, when I saw another of my friends,   
battered and broken from agonising abuse. . .  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Narrator~~  
Gently drifting awake from his dreams, the dark haired man lazily   
stretched, his long, hard muscles rippling as he moved. His eyes   
flicked open . . . and he stopped. In a dim amazement, Kaylin looked   
about the room from his vantage point on the floor. How did I get   
here. . . ? Of course, he realised. Mina.  
  
He dressed quickly, replacing the blanket on Mina's bed, then   
hastened down to the kitchen, noting on the way that it was now past   
1pm.  
  
~~Mina~~  
Sitting beside Ami at lunch, I started as the heavy wooden door slid   
open, but quickly relaxed. Kaylin stood in the doorway, looking   
vaguely dishevelled, but still undeniably powerful, as always. His   
gaze swung round the room, settling on Ami.  
  
He moved, cat-like, to the opposite side of the table, sliding into   
a chair, his gaze never leaving her face. "Hello Ami."  
  
She stared at him open mouthed. "Uh... er..."  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
She swallowed hard. "Um... I... er..." She managed a faint, uncertain   
smile. "Okay."  
  
Ignoring her discomfort, Kaylin nodded. "I'll need to check your   
wounds later, after lunch."  
  
To get his attention off Ami for a moment - the poor girl seemed   
frozen in her chair - I interrupted, "I've been cleaning her wounds   
every day, and the one on her leg twice a day. Everything's started to   
heal now."  
  
His face seemed to soften the slightest bit. "Thank you, Mina." He   
paused. "Have you seen Rei this morning?"  
  
Like Ami, I was suddenly lost for words. "I, er, well, Samuel checked   
her wounds, I just..." I stared at him imploringly. I had indeed looked   
in on my friend earlier, but waves of nausea had driven me from the   
room. Even now tears sprang to my eyes at the thought of that   
shrivelled body lying on the bed...  
  
Thankfully, he seemed to understand. "It's all right, Mina. I'll   
check her later," he replied, his voice low. I stared at the table,   
willing my body to stop shaking, and the ache in my gut to dissipate.  
  
"Well now!" Betty exclaimed, as she bustled into the room carrying   
out plates. "This is better, isn't it. All back together!"  
Yeah I thought blackly. One big happy family.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Later, in Ami's room, I held Ami's hand a little tighter as I saw her   
cringe. She lay face down on the bed, allowing Kaylin to tend her   
injuries, but her composure wavered a little as he peeled the last of   
the bandage from her bullet wound. Though I had cleaned it thoroughly   
every day, I hadn't been able to stop a small infection, and I   
unconsciously flinched as I saw his gaze blacken. Without so much as   
glancing at me, he reached for an antiseptic lotion, and began my   
work anew.   
  
Neither praise nor censure were often forthcoming from this man, but   
it seemed I was learning better and better how to judge his   
reactions, and I flushed at the idea of him thinking I had failed.   
I didn't know why, but it seemed very important to please Kaylin.   
Perhaps it was simply because he had put so much effort into me, that   
I felt I should repay him somehow...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Mina?"  
  
I jumped out of my skin as Kaylin appeared in the living room later that   
day. I hadn't heard him coming. He smiled softly. "Sorry, I didn't mean   
to scare you."  
  
I shook my head. "Doesn't matter. How's Rei?"  
  
He faltered for a moment. "She'll come through. She asked to see you..."   
he said carefully, watching me for a reaction.  
  
I hesitated, but soon found myself grinning, surprising myself at my   
eagerness to see her again. I nodded. "Yes, I'll come up now, if that's   
all right?"  
  
Rei was dozing lightly as I entered the room, but Kaylin stepped over   
to her, gently waking her, and though bleary-eyed, I could see the   
instant joy on her face as she saw me. "Mina!" Her voice was soft,   
barely over a whisper, and her face pale as she struggled to sit up.   
She didn't even flinch as Kaylin bent to help her, rather she leaned   
willingly into his hold, smiling her thanks to him when she was   
sitting up supported by her pillows.   
  
He gently squeezed her hand, and excused himself from the room, while   
I gulped in consternation. Had Rei so easily accepted this strange   
man as an ally, with no questions asked at all? Or did she know   
something I didn't?  
  
But I forced the thought into the back of my head as instead, I threw   
myself at my friend, holding her frail body as tightly as possible   
without injuring her. Her face was drawn, her eyes sunken and her   
skin pale, but beneath the outward pain, I saw a light shining in her   
eyes, and I managed a shaky smile. She reached forward as I came,   
wrapping her knobbly arms around me, while tears fell from both of us.  
  
"Thank goodness you're safe, Rei. I was so worried about you, and   
about everyone else...""Oh gods, Mina, I was so scared. I didn't think   
I would ever see you again, and I thought I was going to die, and then   
I thought about Serena..." Her voice became too choked to continue, and   
I nodded into her hair.   
  
"I know, Rei. I think about her every day. And I think what if we've   
failed her... And I just can't bear it. I just can't..."  
  
Time drifted on as we sat there, wrapped in each other's embrace,   
trying to comfort each other when we were being swallowed by our own   
pain. Finally, though, Rei drew back slightly, the fire still glowing   
in her eyes. "Kaylin will help her," she told me firmly. "He has to."  
Damn, would that girl ever run out of hope, I wondered? Her faith   
seemed a miracle in itself.  
  
But the mention of Kaylin brought my previous thoughts back to mind,   
and I lowered my voice, asking her suddenly, "Rei, do you trust him?"  
She raised en eyebrow, and shrugged. "He saved my life," she   
replied simply. "Of course I trust him." Then a moment later, she   
added "Don't you?"  
  
My voice locked in my throat. "I. . ." I looked away. I simply didn't   
have an answer.  
  
Over the next few days I watched with a growing agitation as Kaylin doted   
on Rei. He would spend hours each day tending to her, cleaning her   
wounds, feeding her soup with endless patience and never commenting on   
her clumsiness or embarrassment.  
  
I found myself fighting back anger on numerous occasions, as I sought him   
out at any time of day or night, only to be told he was seeing to Rei.   
The injustice of it chafed at my temper. We had other friends who were   
still in danger. Why was he spending so much time with her?  
  
Besides which, I asked myself, had he ever been so patient with *me*? Had   
he ever shown such gentleness or devotion with *my* discomfort? Since our   
first meeting, I could only remember him regarding me with a cold eye,   
and an arrogant disdain. Why the change now?  
  
Mentally, I slapped myself. Rei was one of my best friends, and I   
would not for all the world deny her the care she needed. I was being   
terribly cruel, to both her and Kaylin. After all, his only crime was   
that he cared about her...  
  
But as I saw again the tender glances Kaylin aimed at Rei, I couldn't   
help but notice that even in her weakened state, she was still very   
beautiful, her raven hair and violent eyes quickly regaining their old   
glow. Dimly, I wondered if Kaylin had also noticed this, and found myself   
growling at the thought... Wait a minute!   
  
I grimaced internally in self-derision. I was being ridiculous. I was   
acting like some jealous adolescent... Hang on. Jealous? Since when had   
jealousy come into it? Was I jealous of Rei? Kaylin had been nothing but   
cold and distant to me. Could I actually want him to...  
  
In astonishment, I stopped in my train of thought, looking now long and   
hard at Kaylin, at his fierce eyes and hard jaw, his roguish hair, his   
large hands and strong shoulders, at the outline of his biceps under his   
sleave, at the way the muscles of his back played under the black satin   
of his shirt.   
  
And all that latent power of his body was focused like a laser into   
his gentleness and compassion - the compassion he was focusing on *Rei*.  
  
Yes, I realised, in disconcertion. I *wanted* his attention. I wanted   
him to look at *me* that way. I wanted this arrogant, demanding,   
elusive man to care about me.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
~~Darien~~  
  
"Darien?"  
  
The voice seemed to whisper out of my dreams, as I drifted into sleep   
that night. Was it the black clad figure again? Had he returned to my   
dreams to give me some message? I sighed softly, willing myself   
further into sleep.  
  
"Darien?"  
  
My eyes snapped open. I had heard that for real this time, hadn't I?   
  
"Darien?"  
  
"Serena?"  
  
I heard her shuffle in the darkness. "Were you asleep?"  
  
"Hm," I replied. "Not quite."  
  
"Sorry for waking you up."  
  
I smiled softly. "I don't mind, Serena. Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I just. . ." She paused. "Could you just talk to me?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I just want to hear your voice."  
  
I smiled weakly, dragging myself closer to her. "Sure, Serena."  
I heard the dull chink of her chains on the floor as she lay down   
again. "Thank you."  
  
I sighed, and stared out the window for a moment. What could I   
possibly say to her that would not bring either of us pain.   
Remembering the past only reminded me of everything we had lost, and   
our plans for the future were now non-existent. I glanced out the   
window, groping for some topic to start on. The moon, slung low   
against the trees, stared back at me.  
  
The moon. Of course.  
  
"Okay," I began, my voice shaking slightly. "I'll tell you about the   
first time I saw you. 1000 years ago, on the moon."  
  
I could almost *hear* her smile, and I lay back on the cold ground,   
staring up at the thin slip of moon against the sky.  
  
"The first time I saw you wasn't actually when we met for the first   
time in the gardens below the palace. I'd seen you long before then,   
but still, you'd had me hypnotised from the start.  
  
"I first saw you one night about three months before that day. I'd   
come to the moon without anyone else knowing. I think I was drawn to   
its beauty - it was like a guardian to the Earth, so silver and   
majestic in the sky. I was there one night and I saw you walking down   
by the lake, flowers in your hair, and a beautiful blue dress   
sweeping down to your ankles. You looked for all the world like the   
regal Princess you were supposed to be. But then . . . but then I saw   
you had bare feet. I'll never forget that. I couldn't for the life of   
me figure out what the Supreme Princess of the Moon was doing   
wandering around in bare feet. I loved that about you, Serena. No   
matter what the world told you to do you'd follow your own   
heart. . ."   
  
As I talked on into the night, I listened carefully to Serena's   
breathing, and when it finally became deep and even, I knew she was   
asleep. My words faded into silence, and I blinked back tears as my   
gaze remained on the moon. Queen Serenity. If only you were here. If   
only you could help us . . .  
  



	5. My Frozen Heart

When I Wake, Will I Find You There?  
By Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
  
I have made up some characters.   
Disclaimer: All original Sailor Moon characters belong to whatever   
individuals/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 4 - My Frozen Heart  
  
  
~~Narrator~~  
A soft sigh drifted across the darkened room as a tall dark figure   
stood watching the sleeping girl. She slept on, oblivious to his   
presence, and his cold eyes narrowed with intent. "Destiny waits for   
no man, Mina." His low voice floated like mist across the darkness.   
"I'm sorry." Not long afterwards, the door closed gently, and a   
black, ethereal figure could soon be seen stealing away into the   
darkness, the wide porch door hanging open behind him.  
  
  
~~Mina~~  
The kitchen was empty when I got there, but Betty quickly stuck her   
head around the door. "I'll be there in a moment, Mina. Just coming."  
I smiled and took a seat at the table, and in a few minutes, Betty   
came through with my breakfast. She offered me a weak smile as she   
set it before me, and I knew instantly that something was wrong. She   
met my gaze hesitantly, and I sighed.  
  
"He's gone again, isn't he," I muttered to the table.  
Betty managed to stammer a reply. "I... I'm sorry Mina. He just...   
well, you know,"  
  
"I know," I cut her off. "I know why he has to go. I just wish..."  
  
"He'll be back. I know he will."  
  
I smiled up at her. "I know, Betty. It's okay." She nodded, and   
shuffled back to the kitchen.  
  
But when she was gone, I couldn't help the tears that sprang to my   
eyes. It wasn't okay. It wasn't fair.   
  
I still knew so little about Kaylin, but it was becoming clearer to   
me every day that I did care for him. His gentle touch while he   
helped my friends, or the subtle compassion he showed all of us   
continued to imprint on me, and I longed for a way to show him how   
much his actions meant to me. And as my feelings grew, it pained me   
more and more to have him throwing himself into danger to rescue my   
friends.  
  
But then I thought of Serena, Lita and Darien. They were all still   
trapped, goodness knows where, and I longed for them back until it   
was almost painful. But to regain my friends, I had to risk someone I   
cared for almost as much.   
  
No, it wasn't fair.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Lita~~  
Shivering almost uncontrollably, I pressed myself further down in the   
piles of refuse, blocking out at least some of the wind, and wrapped   
my arms around myself. "Awful wretched scoundrels," I muttered to   
myself. "Someone ought to teach those bastards a lesson."  
  
I dropped one arm from my chest for a moment, to probe the blistering   
sores on my ankles. They made me wear chains while I worked during   
the day, serving them their meals, waiting on them at all hours of   
the day or cleaning every corner of the manor from top to bottom. The   
cuffs were too tight, and rubbed my ankles until they were red raw. I   
could only hope the sores didn't get infected, for I know they would   
never treat such a wound, and if illness set in, I was doomed.  
Like I had so many nights before, I stared out into the bleak snow.   
My shoulders ached as I turned my head, reminding me of the beating I   
had received that evening. I gasped as a cold wind snapped into my   
lungs, trying to shield my face from the bitterness.   
  
They always turned me out of the house at dusk. If I was lucky, they   
would let me back in before nightfall, but sometimes they forgot, and   
I would spend the night curled up in the garbage dump - it was the   
only place that offered shelter from the blasting ice and snow.   
Tonight, I realised, was going to be one of those nights.  
  
And again, the question arose in my mind - Why was I still here? Why   
hadn't I run away from this hell I was living in? I was not chained   
here, after all.  
  
And for the first time, I could find no reason to stay. I was going   
to spend the night outside in the snow anyway - why not spend it   
running away from here instead of cowering in a pile of garbage. My   
chances in the open fields couldn't be *that* much worse that my   
chances here... could they?  
  
Another gust of the icy wind blasted in from the fields, ripping all   
the remaining warmth from my burrow. That settled it. Dragging myself   
up out of the rotting waste, I pushed aside the wave of nausea at my   
own stench, and slunk out of that hell-hole, picking a direction at   
random from out of the bleakness. I couldn't even managing to feel   
relief at my freedom. I was just too cold. I spat on the ground as I   
stood at the gates, just before I left this place for the last time.   
My spit froze the instant it hit the snow.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Darien~~  
I have never felt despair quite as acutely as I do now. I thought I'd   
had it rough as a child, always alone, the whole world pitted against   
me. Despair had become quite familiar then, as I lay in bed at night   
and wondered if I would always be alone, if I would ever find another   
human being to share my darkness with.  
  
But this is different. The monotony gets to me most of all. I have   
too much time to think, and nothing to occupy my mind. I have   
memorised ever crack, every ridge and furrow in the stone walls   
around me. I feel as if they've been seared into my mind, and will   
never leave me, to haunt me for the rest of my life. I can almost   
laugh at myself in the darkness now, for I am speaking like I expect   
my life to go on a long time...  
  
Again, tonight, as I slept, the cloaked figure in the darkness came   
to me. He stood before me as always, his crystal eyes not quite   
friendly, and bowed his head as he called me 'Endymion'. I wondered   
for a moment if he was merely mocking me, a salute to a king in   
chains, to be spat on at a later date.  
  
But he shook his head, his eyes compassionate for once. "Help the   
Princess," he told me. "Keep her strong. Protect her, Endymion, and I   
*will* help you."  
  
I understand now. I understand that he knows how great our need is,   
and is doing all he can to help us. I know I have to trust him. But   
time is running out, and I am powerless to fight it.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Narrator~~  
The cold bit at Kaylin's body as he crept around the manor compound,   
a wolf-like dog by his side. He had found no sign of Lita yet, but   
this was most definitely where the portal had revealed her to be. It   
took a large amount of time and effort to track a person's energy   
through the portal, but he had made quite certain that this was the   
place she was being held. So where the hell was she?"  
  
"Well it's NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Why isn't that slave working on it now?!"  
Kaylin lunged back into the shadows as two voices echoed across the   
yard. Fortunately, though, the two men stood by the manor door, a   
good distance from his hiding place, but their voices boomed into the   
night.  
  
"She ran away last night, the little bitch!"  
  
"I thought you said that wouldn't happen," came the angry reply.  
"I shouldn't have! No one in their right mind would wander off in   
this place. It's instant death out there."  
  
"Well you had better find a way to get her back."  
There was a gasp. "*No one* could track her in this weather! Besides   
which, she's probably dead by now!"  
  
There was a pause. "I want you out of this house until you can bring   
me back either a slave, or a dead body. I want that little Sailor   
bitch back! GOT IT?"  
  
Their footsteps crunched away through the snow, and Kaylin slumped   
back against the wall. So, she *was* gone. He held his head, fighting   
back a pounding headache. All that effort to find her... couldn't she   
have just waited one more day?  
  
He glared at the dog in front of him, who stared back with patient,   
primitive eyes. "Well, Dagger. I guess it's up to you now. Think you   
can track her in this snow?" The dog inclined his head, and licked   
his face affectionately. "Come on then..."  
  
Hours passed, and Kaylin was no closer to his goal. Dagger had pawed   
his way willingly through several tons of snow, following goodness   
knows what scent. They had come upon a set of tracks a while back,   
following them for several hundred metres, before they had ended   
abruptly some way behind them. A blizzard had evidently blown up   
sometime between Lita's departure and his own, and tracking her was   
slow going, if not impossible.   
  
Kaylin had tried to reach the girl via telepathy, but had come back   
blank. Not that he was surprised - Jupiter had never been one of the   
more receptive races, telepathically. But the lack of response   
compacted his already frantic fears for her safety. Without decent   
shelter, no one could survive out here for long, and Lita had been   
going at it for half a day at least...  
  
Suddenly, a yip from Dagger brought his head snapping round. The   
large dog was digging under a tree, in a darkened spot of snow. But   
as he came closer, he looked again. That wasn't snow, that was...   
clothing! He fell to his knees beside the dog, heaping armfuls of   
snow out of the way, and gradually revealing...  
  
His eyes closed, his face a riot of pain as disappointment and   
anguish overwhelmed him. There, in the snow, crouched in a ball under   
a tree, was a small figure. It was her, all right. Or rather, and   
here he shuddered, it used to be her... Now, he could tell at a glance   
that she was frozen. She must have been here for an hour at least,   
seeking some pale shelter in the trees. But sadly, her make-shift   
burrow had done her little good. Her lips were blue, her body still   
and stiff. Ice crusted her hair and clothes.  
  
Blindly, he slammed a fist into the tree. "DAMN IT, LITA!" His face   
twisted in agony, tears spilling from his icy eyes into the equally   
cold snow. "Why couldn't you have waited?!" His head fell into his   
hands. "Why did you have to leave?"  
  
He stayed there, crouched low in misery for a long moment, until a   
yip from Dagger caught his attention.  
  
"Dagger, get out of there," he snarled suddenly at the dog, who was   
snuffling around the girl's face. "Leave her alone." Sighing, he   
rocked back on his heals, randomly considering what he should do with   
her body, when the dog crept forward again, licking the girl's mouth.   
"Dagger!" The dog's ears went back, though he remained where he was,   
whining softly.  
  
Kaylin stared. "D...Dagger?" In a flash, he lunged forward, his hands   
at her throat, feeling for a pulse, his ear by her mouth. Then he   
heard it - the slightest of exhalations, a faint hiss between her   
teeth.   
  
Without a thought, he had her in his arms, her body stiff as he   
lifted it, and threw his cloak around her, warm from his own body.   
Silently, he began walking back the way he had come. After only a few   
metres, a silvery portal opened in the air before him, and vanished   
again as they stepped through it.  
  
Kaylin stumbled out of the portal, and instantly recognised the   
garden below the house. He sighed with relief that the portal had   
brought him back so close to home. This method of inter-dimensional   
travel was unreliable at best. It was hard enough pinpointing a   
*city* to return to - exact locations were next to impossible.  
But that was not important now. Getting the girl warm was the only   
thing on his mind as he climbed the steps to the back door, his heart   
weighing heavily in his chest.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mina shivered as a sudden gust of wind blew in her bedroom window.   
She couldn't have explained why her thoughts suddenly snapped back to   
Kaylin, but before she could think about it, she was running down the   
stairs to the hall, bright expectation, and nervousness in eyes.  
She had tried to prepare herself for this, expecting him to come   
bursting in the door again, imagining all variety of horrific   
injuries to face her with... would it be Lita this time? Or was it   
Serena? She could scarcely dare to hope.  
  
But all her frantic thoughts were wasted, as she once again fell into   
a deep shock when Kaylin walked in the door. He did not seem   
surprised to see her, but rather avoided her gaze, heading to the   
living room with the bundle in his arms.  
  
But, Mina realised in apprehension, it was terribly different this   
time. Gone was the urgent demand for assistance, the need to clean   
and sooth and bandage, the compelling sense of life in the balance.   
Instead, he walked sedately across the room, the still figure in his   
arms, and set her gently by the fire.   
  
"Betty, heat a kettle, and fill three or four hot water bottles."   
Kaylin's voice was quiet and calm, but Betty nodded none the less and   
left the room, leaving Mina standing somewhat at a loss.  
"What... what's going on?"  
  
He didn't reply, simply held the girl close to the fire, his cloak   
dragging forgotten across the floor.  
  
"Kaylin? What's going on?"  
  
He lifted shadowed eyes to see her. "I don't think Lita's going to   
make it."  
  
Mina's jaw dropped. "Wha..."  
  
"She has extreme hypothermia. I don't know if I can bring her out of   
it."  
  
Mina shook her head. "But you have to try! You can't just give up!   
You have to..."  
  
"I am trying, Mina!" It came out harsher than he intended, and he   
took a deep breath to steady himself. "I am trying. I just don't know   
how far gone she is."  
  
Mina was speechless. A thousand questions filled her mind, all   
submitting to a welling sense of confusion before she could ask them.   
"But I... I mean she can't..."  
  
"Mina." His voice was calm and soothing. "I'm not giving up on her.   
You know that."  
  
Minutes passed like hours as Mina paced the room, trying not to keep   
glancing at her friend's pale features, but staring at them none the   
less. Vainly, she tried to calm herself, attempting to block out the   
thought that this was her friend lying stiff and cold before her, to   
imagine that it was just another patient needing care. That way she   
could begin to believe that Kaylin was right, that she *would*   
survive.  
  
Betty returned in moments, four hot water bottles in hand, to be   
pressed against Lita's freezing body. The water was somewhat above   
body temperature, but no where near boiling, but Lita none the less   
stirred in her slumber, obviously finding the hot pressure painful.   
Kaylin didn't relent, however, adding both the fire's warmth and his   
own body heat to help revive her.  
  
"Betty?" Mina jumped as Kaylin's voice roughly broke into her   
thoughts. "Go and fill a warm bath. We may need it later."  
Again, Betty merely nodded, and hurried up the stairs, while Kaylin   
remained by Lita's side, constantly monitoring her breathing and   
heartbeat. Mina fought to keep her eyes away. To her inexperienced   
gaze, no sign of life showed in the pale face and bloodless lips.   
Suddenly Kaylin burst forward in a flurry of motion. "Damn it Lita..."  
he muttered under his breath.  
  
"What's happening," Mina demanded loudly.  
He shook his head. "She's too cold. Her heart stopped. I can't find a   
pulse any more." He climbed jerkingly to his feet, roughly hauling   
the girl with him.  
  
"Where are you going," Mina demanded indignantly as he hurried for   
the door.   
  
He would not reply, and she threw herself in front of him in the   
doorway staring at him coldly. "If she's dead, why not just let her   
rest in peace," she demanded, tears in her eyes.  
  
He glared back, his gaze ten times colder than hers. "Get out of the   
way, Mina."  
  
"I won't! Just leave her alone! Hasn't she suffered enough?"  
In a flash, his eyes turned from ice to fire. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!"  
She couldn't jump back fast enough. Never before - *never* - had he   
shouted at her, and as he brushed past her heading up the stairs, she   
fought to keep from crumbling to the floor.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mina sat in the living room, curled up on the couch, staring blindly   
at the fire. She didn't know when she became aware of the dark   
presence standing behind her, but as long minutes passed, she   
continued to ignore him.  
  
Finally, Kaylin let out a slight sigh, and placed his hand gently on   
her shoulder. She didn't jerk away from him as he had feared, but   
rather shrank under his touch, and eased herself away from it.  
He sighed again. "Mina, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled."  
  
~~Mina~~  
I was surprised at the simple statement of it. I waited for a moment,   
expecting some justification for his outburst - his concern for my   
friend's life, perhaps, or his tiredness from a long journey. But   
none came. And so I found I had to provide one instead.  
  
"No," I shook my head, and as I did, I felt his hand on my shoulder   
shift, as if he had meant to take it away, but had changed his mind.   
"I was wrong," I told him. "I know you were only doing what was best   
for her. I shouldn't have said that." I sniffed. "How is she now?" I   
asked in a whisper.  
  
"She's sleeping." His hand tightened. "She's going to make it, Mina.   
It took her a long time to warm up but she's out of danger now." I   
nodded, not trusting my voice as a lump rose in my throat.  
His hand did leave my shoulder this time, as he walked slowly around   
the couch and sat beside me. As they had so many times, his arms   
reached out to pull me towards him, and I fell willingly against his   
chest. A cynical laugh rose from my chest, and bitter tears began   
flowing suddenly, running down my cheek before they were soaked up by   
his dark shirt.   
  
"If you listened to me my friends would be dead by now." It was said   
in cold bitterness and self loathing. Ever since I had arrived at   
this house I had been nothing but selfish. I had been ungrateful to   
Betty, jealous towards Rei, accused Kaylin of cold-blooded cruelty   
and now tried to kill Lita!  
  
His arms tightened around me fiercely. "No Mina! You mustn't think   
that!"  
  
"But it's true," I insisted.  
  
"Oh gods, Mina!" I could feel the tension in his body. "You care for   
those girls more than anything in the world! I've seen it in you."   
His hand was running urgently through and through my hair. "Please   
Mina, don't say things like that."  
  
I could only whimper as his strong arms pressed me against him. I   
could feel his firm chest against my cheek, his hard stomach and   
thigh against my belly. Tentatively, I wrapped my thin arms around   
his torso, holding my breath in anxiousness until he stroked my hair   
again.  
  
~~Narrator~~  
Long moments passed as they both let their breath slow and the   
tension of their bodies drain slightly. Finding her voice again,   
Mina pushed herself back slightly from Kaylin to look into his eyes.   
"Kaylin? I know this probably sounds terribly ungrateful," she mumbled,   
forcing herself to hold his gaze though she desperately wanted to look   
away - he hated to be questioned... "but I have to ask... Where's   
Serena? Have you found her yet?"   
  
"I'm sorry," Kaylin lied. "I'm doing everything I can, but I don't   
know where she is yet."  
  
Mina nodded slowly, resting her cheek against his chest again.   
"That's okay," she whispered. "I know you're doing your best."  
Kaylin sighed inaudibly as she snuggled deeper into his embrace. He   
let his hand fall into a gentle rhythm of stroking her back as he   
stared at the embers of the fire. Mina didn't move for long moments,   
and as he listened to her deep, even breathing, Kaylin realised with   
a gentle flutter of his heart, that she was asleep.  
  
As she lay there snugly, delighting in the false comfort he gave her,   
Kaylin shuddered. His heart was beating dull and slow, even the   
excitement of having her warm body so close to him overcome by a cold   
dread.  
  
"Ah, well now." He looked up suddenly at the voice, and his eyes   
narrowed as he saw Betty standing in the doorway, arms folded across   
her. She smiled softly at the sight that greeted her, but her eyes   
remained cynical. "Found a soft spot, has she?" Her voice was hard.  
"She just fell asleep," he replied coldly.  
  
"And that's why you're hangin' on to her as if she were life itself,   
is it?" He glared at her, but he didn't release the girl, and Betty's   
harsh frown softened a little. "Kaylin, I've known you all your life,   
I can read you like a book. I have to admit, sometimes I'm completely   
clueless as to what you think you're doin' here, but I do know that   
however cold you pretend to be, you love her." Amazingly, his cheeks   
coloured slightly, but Betty continued, "Just remember why you're   
here. You have a long way to go yet, and you can't be letting her   
distract you all the time."  
  
"I know why I'm here," he shot back coldly. "And she has everything   
to do with it."  
  
"All I'm sayin' is maybe you should be asking yourself why you're   
here fawning over her when you should be trackin' down our wayward   
Princess, hm?"  
  
She turned away from the door then, leaving Kaylin battling what   
demons he had left, his heart now preoccupied by Mina's fragile body   
pressed against his chest and thigh, while his mind fought to think   
of something else. He knew why he was here. Oh yes, he knew.  
He knew where the Princess was. He knew how to reach her. He knew   
what sacrifices were required to rescue her.   
  
And he knew, deep down, that the entire task was impossible.  
  



	6. Forget Me Not

When I Wake, Will I Find You There?  
By Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
  
I have made up some characters.  
Disclaimer: All original Sailor Moon characters belong to whatever   
individuals/ companies own or made sailor Moon.  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 5 - Forget me not  
  
~~Darien~~  
  
Serena was dying.  
  
It no longer shocked me to say it. It hurt me, I won't deny   
that. The pain of losing her shot through me like a searing knife,   
and I had to fight not to scream each time I thought of it. But it   
did not surprise me any more.  
  
As I stared across the dimness to where she lay, I knew with a   
sad certainty that it was the end this time. She no longer even   
responded to my voice when I spoke to her, and that constant silence   
had driven me to a silence of my own. It was half a day since she had   
even moved, and it was only by an occasional flutter of her ribs that   
I knew she still breathed.  
  
I lifted a dirt-smeared hand to brush the bangs from my eyes.   
In a fit of stubborn rage, I tugged once again at the chains around   
my wrists. Weeks of effort had produced no result, but some small,   
pathetic hope still resided in me somewhere.  
  
The chains did not move.  
  
I lay my head back down on the hard ground, my eyes closing in   
agony as I tried to block out the image of the small, vulnerable girl   
lying there on the floor. The last of her bright hope had finally   
been sucked away, and she had confided in me last night that she   
longed to die. My own hope is still just barely alive, clinging to   
the promise of that dark figure from my dreams, but even despite   
that, I could not find it in my heart to tell her she was wrong.  
  
The unfortunate thing about lying here is that the mind has   
plenty of time to wander, and this evening was no different. The   
faint moonlight through the window flickered on the stone around us,   
turning the grey to silver. It reminded me of... yes, despite my   
protests, it reminded me of the Moon Kingdom, 1000 years ago.   
  
- Serenity's palace used to shine with silver light. I think it was   
that that first drew me to the moon - the vast planes of silver that   
abounded everywhere. And then I met Serena. Her silver hair had had   
me hypnotised from the moment I laid eyes on it. -  
  
I bit my lip in the darkness, and tears squeezed from my eyes.  
  
- We used to walk down by the lake in the evening, watching the   
Earth hanging in the sky like a beacon. Roses grew all around the   
lake, and I had often picked them, handing them on to my love as the   
gifts of a man possessed by beauty. The lake held so many memories   
for us. It was where we shared our first kiss; where I had first   
declared my undying love for the Moon Princess; where she had agreed   
to marry me; where we had first made love... -  
  
Lying on the cold floor, my tears slide down and splash onto the   
concrete, as if to wash that filthy surface clean.  
  
- Our love was so great, we even got the chance to do it all again.   
We had had so many plans for the future. We were going to get   
married, raise a family, I had always wanted to learn to play the   
guitar, Serena had a dream of travelling Europe. I had promised her   
we would do it one day.   
  
Our love was destined to last a millennium. It was the love of   
two lifetimes, we had overcome all obstacles, even going to the   
lengths of being *reborn*... -  
  
But none of that mattered now. Because, like I said, Serena was   
dying.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Narrator~~  
Twilight descended once again over the barren land, the dense   
blackness of night unmarred, the thin crescent moon having little   
effect on the darkness. An aeon of nights had passed in this cold   
land, each one as silent and empty as the last. But change, when it   
comes, always comes suddenly, and in this place it was no different.  
  
Wraith-like, a black ethereal figure once again dropped into   
the darkness, slinking out of the trees like a rat from its hole.   
There was no boldness in the figure's stance tonight, only a slight   
shiver, and bird-like nervousness. And the constant, unconditional   
silence.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Two days earlier~~  
  
~~Mina~~  
Kaylin wasn't around the next morning as I went down to   
breakfast, not that I had really expected him to be. He had told me   
last night that he didn't know where Serena was, and that meant he   
was probably busy trying to trace her now. But as I sat down at the   
table, Betty's usually cheerful face was clouded, and I knew that   
meant something was wrong...  
  
"Mina dear, I'm glad your up. I wonder, could you do a favour   
for me?"  
  
"Yes, of course," I replied. Strange. She had never asked me to   
do anything before...  
  
"Could you go and check on Kaylin this mornin'?" My eyebrows   
lifted so high I thought they would jump off my head. "He's out in   
the garden," Betty continued, ignoring the look. "He's been out there   
all morning. Something very important is bothering him and he won't   
talk to me about it. I'm worried out of my mind. It's just not like   
him."  
  
I nodded hesitantly. "I... I'll see what I can do," I replied,   
mystified. As if things weren't strange enough around here...  
  
"Kaylin?"  
He looked up from his reverie, as he stared at the rose-garden,   
fingers gently caressing a blooming bud. Even from a distance, I   
could see the deep frown on his face, and it didn't ease as I   
approached. I said nothing as I reached his side, rather staring into   
his glacial blue eyes, as if the answers to my questions would be   
written there. Taking a deep breath, I forced the words from my lips.   
"There's something bothering you, isn't there?"  
  
The question was bound to antagonise him. I had learnt very   
quickly not to question his actions or thoughts in the early days of   
my stay here, and now I expected a swift torrent of hostility from   
him at the impertinent question.  
  
He gazed at me for a long time before he finally turned away, a   
cold silence settling over us both. His expression remained closed,   
and vaguely angry, and I didn't dare say anything more.   
  
Then, after an unbearable amount of time, he spoke, shocking me   
to the core with an answer I would never have expected. "Perhaps you   
can help me..."  
  
I stood there, mouth hanging open like a fish, in disbelief,   
and he reached out to take my hand. "Come inside, Mina." Stunned, I   
followed.  
  
He led me back into the house, and down the hallway past the   
kitchen to a closed, and locked door. One of the rooms I had never   
been into... With a small silver key, he opened the heavy door, and   
switched on a small lamp by the desk. I followed him in, hesitant,   
curious, and shut the door behind me at his word.  
  
"I wasn't sure if I should show you this, but now I don't see   
any other option..." I didn't reply as he seated himself at the desk,   
pulling a stool up beside him and gesturing for me to sit down. "This   
is where I did all my searching for your friends." He sat with his   
chin on his knuckles, his elbows resting on the table, staring   
studiously at the wall. He sighed. "When you were... captured by the   
Reformation, they sold you to creatures from many different   
dimensions. There are hundreds of worlds scattered across space and   
time, some good, some evil... the ones you and your friends travelled   
to were planets in league with the Negaverse, allies, trading   
partners or whatever..."   
  
He paused, searching for the words to explain himself. "As   
you're probably aware, I possess significant power. It comes from...   
No," he interrupted himself. "It's too long to explain now. Anyway,   
the point is, I used this power to trace you and your friends into   
different dimensions." He would still not look at me. "My abilities   
allow me to create a portal, a gate, if you wish, to other planets."   
He stopped, and seemed to be considering whether or not to continue.   
After a few false starts, he finally said, in a low murmur, "There is   
something I have to show you."  
  
He closed his eyes briefly, and with a small gesture, a   
shimmering image appeared in the air, its edges blurred and silvery.   
The picture within it cleared after a moment, and I shuffled closer   
to Kaylin to get a better look.   
  
A dim hallway showed through the portal, grey stone lining the   
floor while doors were dotted along the walls at regular intervals. I   
saw Kaylin move his fingers slightly, and the image began moving,   
like a camera zooming in down the hallway. It stopped, facing the   
door at the very end, and then the image flickered for a second, and   
I guessed we were looking inside the room now, though hardly anything   
could be seen through the blackness.   
  
The image turned to the left, and I could see a dark form lying   
on the floor. Seeming to sense something watching him, his head   
snapped up, and he stared directly at us, though Kaylin assured me he   
could not see the portal from the other side. With a sickening   
feeling of dread, I realised I knew who it was. Dar... but then the   
portal swung to the right again, and another figure appeared, long   
blond hair scattered on the ground... "SERENA!" Unthinking, I lunged   
for the picture, trying to grab it, to somehow reach the girl...  
  
But as my hand touched the image it shattered in the air,   
fading in a glittery flash, leaving me shaking as Kaylin pulled me   
into a fierce embrace. I couldn't contain the scream of surprise and   
agony that ripped through me, the image of my friend seared into my   
mind, and I clung to him to keep from collapsing to the floor. Soon,   
though, he began talking again, finishing what he had to tell me.  
  
"When you and your friends were sold as slaves, Serena and   
Darien were kept by the Reformation to deal with themselves. And   
now," he said stiffly, "we come to the bad news." I braced myself. "I   
cannot rescue them."  
  
That was it. Said so simply and unequivocally, with no room for   
argument. But by hell, I was going to argue!  
  
"Like hell, you can't!" I burst out. My outbursts were becoming   
fairly routine now... "You can't just leave them there! You're just   
giving up on them, you bastard! I not going to let you! You can't   
just fold on us now!"  
  
"Mina, please! Let me explain!" But I wouldn't. How could he   
just sit and watch their suffering! How much cruelty was this man   
capable of?  
  
"Mina, listen to me!"   
  
I stopped my yelling finally, glaring at him in anger and   
disappointment. "You sadistic, cold-hearted bastard!"  
  
He was silent for a long time. And through my agitation, I   
began to see the pain in his eyes. "Please, hear me out?"  
  
I sighed, still frowning, and sank back onto my stool, knowing   
there was little else I could really do. "Fine," I conceded. "Tell   
me."  
  
"When I found you, and the rest of the Senshi," he started   
shakily, "rescuing you was relatively easy. I can fight with a sword   
very well, and if that wasn't enough, I had power to draw on to get   
me out of trouble. With the Reformation, it's different.  
  
"I can't fight them. They have powers, magic, skills, far, far   
beyond my own. There would be no contest. I would be dead in five   
minutes, as would your Prince and Princess." His eyes begged me to   
understand him. "I don't know how to help them. I don't know what I   
can do."  
  
I sat in silence, disbelieving, denying it... "You... you can't   
fight them..." I reiterated blankly. I wouldn't accept it. We were   
too close now. There must be something we haven't thought of, some   
other way... Then, like the proverbial light bulb, my eyes lit up   
like sparks. He must have seen the hope in my eyes suddenly, for he   
started as I stared at him.  
  
"You can't fight them?" I asked eagerly. "Then don't."  
  
He looked at me blankly. "But how else am I...?"  
  
I grinned. "I know a way."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~In the Present~~  
  
~~Narrator~~  
Wraith-like, the black figure paused, checking the air around   
him, before slinking again close to the ground and making a slow,   
painstaking progress towards the darkened castle. Never once did he   
try to communicate with the two fallen heroes within its sinister   
walls, yet he knew, as he crept in agonising caution, that they could   
be dying at this very moment. Finally, patience turned to hope, and   
the ghostly figure slipped through an open drain, to the interior of   
the house.  
  
~~"Don't fight them," she had told him. "There are other ways to do   
things than by fighting."~~  
  
All rules of life and death ceased to exist as Kaylin dropped   
into the empty room below. Only one rule remained: Get caught and you   
will die. He could not fight the Reformation - stealth was his *only*   
ally here. He had to get in, free Darien and Serena, and get out   
again without ever being discovered, using silence and darkness to   
hide his deceitful theft. Unfortunately, his chances of doing that   
were almost zero. But it was, he reminded himself, the only way...  
  
The darkness around him was absolute, but he needed no light or   
sound to tell him which way to go. His sense of direction alone told   
him which way, leading him upward and onward, towards his Prince, and   
his fallen Princess.  
  
Three hours or more may have passed before Kaylin was close.   
Once, he had had to wait in one position for more than half an hour,   
while a guard idly wandered about the hallway, off duty and   
apparently bored. Another time, he had thought he was discovered, a   
member of the Reformation itself actually coming within three feet of   
him as he crouched in the corner of a room, under a small cabinet   
while the red-cloaked creature had sat on the stool before him. He   
had not breathed for three minutes, saved in the end only by chance   
when the creature had suddenly decided to leave.  
  
But now, he crouched at the end of a long corridor, the door to   
his master and mistress located at the far end, and the entire   
corridor void of any cover.  
  
He had two choices; break cover and make a run for it, or use   
his power to free them from where he hid. Either way, it was almost   
certain he would be discovered.  
  
For a moment, he simply sat there, frozen in indecision. Then,   
with a slight shake of his head, he broke cover, and ran.  
  
By some miracle, Kaylin reached the end of the corridor without   
being caught, and began to pick the lock of the door. Furtive glances   
down the hall were useless to him, so he didn't bother with them,   
concentrating solely on the lock. If he was discovered, there was   
nothing he could do about it.  
  
Finally, a dull click sent the padlock tumbling off the chain,   
and he snatched it from midair before it hit the ground. Sparing only   
one glance down the still deserted hallway, he slid soundlessly   
through the door, closing it smoothly behind him.  
  
  
~~Darien~~  
If there had been any food in my stomach, I would have vomited   
when I heard the door open. If they took her away again, I knew she   
would not be coming back. Serena no longer had the strength to fight   
the pain they inflicted on her - she was bound to die. With a hatred   
burning like an inferno, I turned to face the stranger in the   
doorway. If he even touched my Princess. . .  
  
But as I stared at the man standing there, I felt my gut clench   
with something other than fear. It was HIM! The figure from my   
dreams! Even now I could see his icy blue eyes in the dim light,   
staring at me from under his black cloak. A surge of excitement   
ripped through me, and I found myself fighting to breath as my throat   
locked in electrified joy. We were to be saved at last! Tears burst   
from my eyes as my gaze swung fervently across to Serena. We were to   
be saved...  
  
I stopped.  
  
She lay still and silent on the floor, never having even cared   
that the man had arrived. Silence settled thickly on my aching mind.   
She did not move. She did not even seem to breath. Was it... already   
too late? Was she...?  
  
The figure cautiously approached my Princess, gently resting a   
hand on her cheek as he reached for her wrist, felt for her pulse...  
My heart was doing summersaults in my chest as time dragged on   
forever. Why was it taking so long!!!  
  
Then finally, he lifted his hand, moving to wrap his wide grip   
around the chain at her wrist. With a sharp crack, a shock seemed to   
go through him, and to my amazement, the chain shattered into   
fragments and crumbled to the floor. He repeated this feat on her   
other wrist, and on the chains around her ankles. And all through it,   
she never moved.  
  
Okay, good, she was free, I thought in agony, but was she   
alive??? I thought to ask the man, but words escaped me, my head was   
whirling. The wait was agonising!  
  
Then he silently crossed the room to my side, kneeling before   
me as he reached for my wrist. "Endymion," he muttered. "Forgive   
me..."  
  
Nothing in the world can describe the jolting shock I felt as   
his skin touched mine. Like waking from a deep sleep to face a   
glaring light, his skin felt like fire to me, throbbing with energy   
and lightning. I didn't bother to ponder it though, as his hands   
closed about the chains, and they, too, were shattered, and for the   
first time in months, I climbed to my feet, free at last...  
  
But no, I realised, as I stumbled badly across the floor,   
collapsing to my knees beside Serena. Without her, I could never be   
free...   
  
And finally I had my answer. Her chest fluttered slightly, her   
cheeks faintly flushed... she lived!  
  
Gently, I lifted her limp form into my arms, and despite her   
weakened state, despite the abject hopelessness that filled me, I   
felt peace, and as had always *always* happened when we touched, my   
heart skipped a beat. I loved her so much! We were together. I could,   
after so many weeks of torment, hold my angel in my arms and comfort   
her and let her dying touch sooth my battered soul.   
  
We would die together, my angel in my arms, and I, her failed   
protector, would hold her lifeless body in dignity, off that soiled   
floor. No, my angel must never be dirty. She must always be protected   
from harm. I would protect her. I would follow her to the next world   
and be always by her side and I would protect her...  
  
~~Kaylin~~  
It was clear enough to me that Darien was delirious - he was   
muttering to himself, stroking the dying girl with shaking hands,   
tears streaming from his eyes though he was unaware of it. I know   
that logic says I should have gotten them out of their as fast as   
possible, but compassion said I should give them a moment together.   
After all, if she did actually die...  
  
But time marched on, and was soon up.   
  
"Darien," I said, my hand clamping down on his arm to make him   
listen. "If we're ever going to get out of here we have to do it now.   
Time is up, and the Reformation is going to come for us."  
  
He nodded, and, in a valiant effort, tried to lift Serena, his   
arms wrapped clumsily around her. But as he tried, the girl began to   
slide to the floor. Swiftly, I was there to catch her, taking her   
from the confused Prince. He looked at me with sorrowful eyes, as if   
asking why I took his soul mate from him. I shuddered, and looked   
away. I couldn't bear to look at the pain that showed there. He   
reached out with an unsure hand, lightly touching the unconscious   
girl's arm. "Come on," I told him, nodding encouragingly. "Let's go."   
  
I moved to the door, peering cautiously around it so see that   
the coast was clear. But as I was about to leave the room, I noticed   
Darien was not beside me. I looked back, and he stood where I had   
left him, beside the shattered chains of his princess. He didn't seem   
to understand that I wanted to take *him*, as well as her.  
  
"Come on, Endymion," I tried to encourage him. "Your Princess   
needs you."  
  
The words seemed to rouse him, and he drew himself up straight,   
(well, as straight as possible in his current state) and nodded to   
me. "Right." He took a tentative step forward, and I checked the hall   
again, then slipped round the corner. Darien seemed to have lost his   
way again, and I jerked my head at him. "Come on!"  
  
Stealth and silence were of little use to me now. Serena   
weighed me down enough to make my progress ungraceful, and Darien was   
in no fit state to manage either silence or speed. New tactics were   
needed here.   
  
We needed blind luck.  
  
And so there we were, running down a hallway whenever the coast   
seemed clear for a moment, ducking into the shadows when it seemed   
necessary to pause in silence until either Darien had caught his   
breath, or the wandering guard had left the room...  
  
Carrying Serena, and with my own tense exhaustion gnawing at   
me, I regret that I couldn't be of much help to Darien. Weeks of   
lying in chains had withered his muscles as much as malnutrition had   
done, sheer physical and mental exhaustion were wearing away at him   
all too quickly, and I had to stop uncountable times to encourage him   
on, resorting to coaxing, bribing, threats and even guilt trips to   
make him move. Precious time was lost as he repeatedly stumbled or   
fell, but I would not - could not - let myself give up on him. Over   
and over again, I found myself grateful it was Serena I had to carry   
and not Darien. Had I had the Prince in my arms, I may have forgotten   
the Princess and made away with what I had... I cringe. Mina would be   
very upset if she ever heard me say that, but I think she understands   
my reasons for it...  
  
I took risks we should not have done, repeatedly wondering when   
our luck would run out and we would be caught... but like most things   
in this daring scheme, we had little choice...  
  
But I let myself breath a small sigh of relief as we made our   
way once again down into the cellar. The narrow gap to the outside   
was the only obstacle left, and I let us all stop to catch our breath   
before I attempted that one.  
  
  
~~Mina~~  
Hours passed as I hid in the shadow of the trees, waiting for   
Kaylin to return. We had crossed through the portal into this world   
just after dusk, waiting until the full darkness of night had settled   
before Kaylin had bade me a short farewell, and dropped down the   
slope onto the rocky plain. The two horses we had brought stood   
tethered to a tree nearby. Kaylin had explained that he didn't   
expect Serena or Darien to be able to walk far, and so we would need   
the horses to escape. Mine was a pretty mare called Tempest, and   
Kaylin rode his usual stallion named Thunder.  
  
He had given me very specific instructions for what was to   
happen tonight. When he gave me Serena, I was to take her and leave,   
and not worry about him or Darien. My sole concern was to be for the   
Princess. I didn't quite understand that at the time. I would have   
thought Kaylin would prefer to look after her, rather than risk her   
with my weaker abilities, but he refused to answer any questions,   
finally scolding me that it would happen his way or no way at all.  
  
I squinted into the darkness again, easily making out the   
fearful castle that rose above the skyline like a great disfigurement.   
They were in there, somewhere, Kaylin and Serena. And Darien a   
little voice reminded me. But, though I liked Darien well enough, I   
have to admit I could only think of Serena.   
  
  
~~Kaylin~~  
The outside world, when we came to it, was as black as when I   
had left it some five hours before. No hint of dawn touched the   
horizon as the three of us squirmed out of the drain and onto the   
rocky soil. Serena, still unconscious, had to be dragged and pushed   
in a combined effort by me and Darien, and I cringed at the injuries   
we must be doing her frail body.  
  
Finally, though, we rose to our feet in the blackness, edging   
away from the daunting castle like rats from a drain, always sticking   
to the shadows, always alert for danger...  
  
We came to a rocky outcrop some metres from the castle wall,   
and I led us behind it, to put a barrier between ourselves and the   
eyes of the Reformation... I checked behind us as we slid round the   
corner, making sure no one had seen us, then turned to look forward   
to the trees...  
  
My heart stopped.  
  
There before us stood a Reformist, covered from head to foot in   
a red shroud. We stared at each other for timeless seconds, and   
though I could see no expression on its cloaked face, I imagined it   
was as stunned as we were.  
  
As I stood frozen in shock, a voice whispered in my head. It's   
over. It's over Then, another image flashed through my mind. Mina.   
Mina lying on a cold floor, her lungs burning and limbs screaming in   
pain. It's over. The same words had echoed in her head, as she fled   
her dungeon all those weeks ago. She knew she was going to die   
anyway, but she still ran.   
  
She still ran.  
  
I threw the Princess over my shoulder, grabbed Darien's hand,   
and ran.  
  
Behind us, the entire castle came alive, like an ants nest   
disturbed, strange creatures streaming from it's doors in pursuit of   
us. Hideous shouts sounded and from the belly of the castle, a deep   
roar began to rumble. The Reformation had been awakened.   
  
But I never looked back. I ran with single minded determination.   
We would survive. We would win! We would run...  
Mina, bless the girl, saw us coming, and was on her horse with   
mine ready by the time we burst into the trees. I literally *threw*   
Serena into Mina's saddle, slapping her horse on the rump as I issued   
the order "Get out of here!" then turned to Darien. He had collapsed   
on the ground.  
  
Quietly, I swore to myself. I had neither the time nor the   
energy to get him up again.  
  
"Darien," I uttered harshly. "If you *ever* want to see Serena   
again, get up now!" I gritted my teeth, praying that he would stand,   
and not merely give up where he lay. I knew that either was equally   
possible. . .  
  
But it seems I had underestimated him. He immediately perked   
up, looking at where Mina's horse was retreating through the trees,   
and with a small groan, dragged himself to his feet. As soon as he   
was up, I had him over my shoulder, then sprawled across the saddle.   
The dull thud of hoofbeats in the background caused my heart to leap.   
I quickly vaulted onto Thunder behind him, and urged the stallion   
into a gallop, even while Mina was already vanishing through the   
trees ahead of me. It took all my strength to hold Darien on the   
horse - he was bouncing around all over the place - and I let Thunder   
have his head. He knew where we were going.  
  
We had to get a considerable distance away from the castle for   
the power of the Reformation to weaken sufficiently for me to create   
a portal back to Earth. The Reformation could not follow - it would   
take them weeks to trace where we had gone once the portal was   
closed.   
  
I do believe we actually flew part of that journey, the horses'   
hooves barely brushing the ground as our fear and their excitement   
drove them on. Hideous screams filled the air behind us, and I could   
feel the power of the Reformation reaching out to catch us, racing to   
reach us as we slipped again and again just out of its grasp.   
  
In a rush, I felt the power of the Reformation diminish, and   
opened a portal twenty metres ahead of us. Mina and her horse   
vanished through the portal ahead of me. The ground shook beneath us,   
and Thunder stumbled... Darien slipped in the saddle, and began   
sliding from the horse... the portal loomed large and wide ahead of   
us, yet it seemed so far away... the power of the Reformation   
screamed behind me... I made a grab for Darien...  
  
~~Mina~~  
Tempest's hooves hit grass as she vaulted through the portal,   
and I wrenched her in a tight circle, anxious to see if Kaylin made   
it through. . .  
  
A dark blur came racing through the gap, a golden flash   
shutting off the gateway, but before I could feel any relief, my   
heart screamed in panic.  
  
As Thunder's hooves hit the ground, Darien slid from the   
saddle, sliding under the horse before he fell to the ground.   
Thunder's hind legs slammed into his limp body, and the huge horse   
shied, stumbled, and went down. Kaylin went down with him.  
  
  
~~Narrator~~  
"Betty?"   
  
Betty looked up as Lita came wandering into the kitchen for   
breakfast. Ami and Rei were already seated at the table, finishing   
their meal, and Lita sat down opposite them.  
  
"What is it, dear?" Betty asked as she placed a steaming plate   
before the girl.  
  
"Where's Mina this morning? Her room was empty when I checked   
it."  
  
"Kaylin's not around either," Rei added, through a mouthful of   
toast. "He always comes to check on me first thing, and he didn't   
today."  
  
Betty nodded, forcing a smile. "Yes, Mina and Kaylin had a   
little business they had to take care of this morning," she lied   
circumspectly. "There's nothing to worry about. I'm sure they'll be   
back soon."  
  
"Well if they don't hurry up, they'll miss breakfast," Rei   
said, finishing off her toast. "Could I have a little more, please   
Betty?"  
  
Betty grinned once again. "Ah child! What a relief it is to see   
you eating so well! You're lookin' better every day, you are. I'll   
bring you some more."  
  
"BETTY!!!! SAMUEL!!!"  
  
"What the...?" Betty was at the front door, Ami and Lita on her   
heels in a flash. "What in the world... MINA!" Then she caught sight   
of the figure in Mina's arms. "Oh my..."  
  
A piercing scream sounded from behind her, and Betty turned to   
see Ami, face a ghostly white, sliding to the floor in a swoon. Betty   
grabbed her as she fell, while Lita rushed forward to take Serena   
from Mina's shaking arms.   
  
"Upstairs," Mina ordered, as Samuel burst in from the garden.   
"Mina? Where's Kaylin?"  
  
"Down the road. He... I..." Mina's eyes were wide as she waved   
her arms in hysteria. "It was all... and then he... I just..."  
  
"Let's go," Samuel decided for her, dragging her out the front   
door again.   
  
Betty set Ami down on the floor, just as Rei stumbled round the   
door from the kitchen. Her muscles were still very weak, and she   
could not walk far. "Tell Lita to look after Ami," she barked at the   
raven haired girl. Rei nodded, still mystified as to the cause of the   
screaming, and then Betty raced out the front door after Samuel.  
  
The last Mina had seen, as she had fled down the road with   
Serena, had been both Darien and Kaylin lying motionless on the   
ground, while Thunder flailed on his side. In her absence, Thunder   
had climbed to his feet, and was now standing some distance away.   
Darien lay where he had fallen, sprawled on the ground, shuddering   
quietly. Kaylin lay still.  
  
Samuel took one look at Darien, and was by his side in an   
instant. "Check Kaylin," he barked at Mina, as he lifted the injured   
Prince, making his hasty way back to the house. Betty made short work   
of rounding up the stray horse, while Mina rushed to Kaylin's side.  
  
"Kaylin? Kaylin, wake up." She was alarmed at the blood   
staining his face, and the pale hue of his skin underneath. "Kaylin!"   
Finally, he moved, groaning quietly as he tried to roll over. "No,   
don't try to move," she told him firmly, anxiety twisting her face as   
his eyes flicked open. "How are you? Are you hurt?"  
  
He squinted up at her. "Darien? How is he?" he asked in sudden   
alarm.  
  
Mina shook her head. "Samuel took him to the house. I don't   
know if he was hurt or not. What about you? Can you get up?" He   
nodded reluctantly, and leaned on Mina as he pulled himself to his   
feet. His right side, he expected, would soon have some nasty   
bruises, going by the way his shoulder and hip were complaining, but   
otherwise he seemed to have come off unhurt. "Come on," Mina   
instructed. "Let's get back to the house."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Mina~~  
Kaylin cursed quietly to himself as I disinfected the cut on   
his forehead. "Could you hurry up? I have to go and..."  
  
"Betty and Samuel are taking care of them," I told him, forcing   
him to sit still a moment longer. "I'm not going to let you wander   
around with blood all over you. There, it's finished," I added, as I   
threw the cotton ball into the garbage.  
  
He was up and out of the room before I had turned around, and I   
sighed, following him down the hall to the room Serena and Darien had   
been taken to.  
  
Darien was sitting on one of the beds when I arrived, watching   
Serena like a hawk as Betty striped Serena's shirt off as she lay on   
the other bed. I winced as I saw the bloody sores on Serena's back.   
She would have some nasty scars...  
  
Kaylin was already by her side, injecting what I guessed to be   
a sedative into her vein. Though she was unconscious, it would not do   
to have her waking up in the middle of one of her wounds being   
stitched. Samuel, Betty told us, was taking care of the horses,   
cooling them down after their hellish run. Lita was sitting beside   
Darien, trying to get him to stay still for her to treat his cuts,   
but he was not interested, his gaze remaining fixed on Serena. Ami   
was sitting at the edge of the room, wanting to help, but afraid to   
get too close to Serena. She had not entirely recovered from the   
shock of seeing her earlier. Rei was still downstairs. She was not   
strong enough to climb the stairs on her own, so I had told Samuel to   
bring her up as soon as he had finished with the horses.  
  
"Here, let me do that," I told Lita, who was fast losing   
patience as Darien moved yet again, shifting closer to the edge of   
the bed, closer to Serena. I had had some experience at this, caring   
for the Senshi while Kaylin was away, and now put those skills to   
good use.   
  
Kaylin had also relieved Betty from her care of Serena, and was   
now checking the girl for any more serious injuries. Weakness seemed   
to be her main problem, however, and so he began the laborious task   
of cleaning each and every one of her cuts, bandaging the worst ones,   
and washing her skin as he went. It wasn't long before Lita was   
hovering by his elbow, and he set her to doing the same, on Serena's   
other side. Ami emerged from her side of the room a while later, to   
sit at Serena's bed and gently stroke her hand while Kaylin and Lita   
worked.   
  
Betty came to help me when she found little else to do, holding   
Darien's reluctant limbs as I tried to bandage his injuries. He   
seemed unaware of our presence, his eyes glowing feverishly as he   
stared at Serena. I couldn't fathom the expression on his face. He   
seemed likely at any moment to leap across the room in her defence,   
if Kaylin or the Scouts put one finger out of place, but he never   
actually got around to moving.  
  
"Mina?"  
  
I jerked around in surprise as I heard Rei's voice. She was   
clinging to the doorframe, her legs shaking. "Do you need any help?"   
she asked with a weak smile.  
  
"How did you... I thought you couldn't..."  
  
"Climb the stairs?" she finished for me, as Betty helped her to   
a seat beside me. "I didn't walk up them," she admitted sheepishly.   
"When Samuel was taking so long I got impatient, so I crawled up   
here. On my backside."  
  
"Oh Rei."  
  
"So now I'm here, what can I do?"  
  
"You can take over from Betty for now," I instructed her. "I   
need another bowl of disinfectant, please?" I said to the older woman.   
The one I had been using was now stained a dull red. Betty nodded,   
and disappeared out of the room.  
  
  
~~Darien~~   
It was a strange feeling to watch someone caring for Serena.   
The Senshi, and this strange man who had rescued us, handled her body   
almost with reverence; I could see from where I was how gentle they   
were. How long had it been since either of us had felt a soothing   
hand? But then I scolded myself for even thinking of myself at such a   
time. Serena was the important one here, not me! I winced as Mina   
applied yet another cold compress to the swelling bruises on my leg.   
That must have been from the horse...  
  
But looking back to Serena, with her swarm of helpers,   
something occurred to me. Wasn't she *my* Princess, *my* destined.   
Shouldn't *I* be the one looking after her? I asked... what was his   
name? Kaylin? Yes, I asked Kaylin about this, but he said no, I was   
injured as well, and I had to stay still for Mina to look after me.  
But Serena was more important than me, I insisted. She should be   
taken care of first! But Kaylin explained that they had enough people   
to look after both of us at once. Didn't sound like a very good   
reason to me... But they *were* being ever so gentle with Serena. I   
guess I could leave them to it for now...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Kaylin~~   
I sighed as Darien yet again pushed the plate of food away from   
himself. He sat perched on the edge of his bed, alternately picking   
over the meal, and staring intently at the still unconscious girl who   
lay on the other bed.  
  
"You shouldn't have taken her shirt off," he told me seriously.   
"She'll get cold later."  
  
I closed my eyes briefly. "I brought an extra blanket up to   
make sure she's warm," I told him firmly. I hadn't, but the room was   
heated, and it was close enough to the truth. There was no point in   
arguing rationally with him. He wasn't thinking anywhere near   
straight. Instead I told him half-truth after half-truth, trying to   
get him to relax long enough to eat something.  
  
I had sent the rest of the Senshi away now that Serena had been   
cared for. Mina had done an excellent job on Darien's injuries, I   
discovered as I had checked him briefly, and since he was still   
awake, I thought it would be worth trying to get him to eat something.   
He needed all the strength he could get.  
  
But now he rose from his bed again, going to sit beside Serena,   
to stroke her hair and gaze into her bruised, sleeping face. It was   
the fourth time he had left his meal to do this, and I had learnt   
after the first time that trying to stop him was pointless. A   
combination of exhaustion and extreme stress had simply shorted out   
any rational thought for the time being. Minutes passed in silence,   
until he finally returned to his bed, picked distractedly at the food   
again.  
  
"She's going to be upset when she finds out you took her hair   
down," he told me coldly.  
  
"Perhaps you could help her put it up again when she wakes up,"   
I suggested blandly.   
  
This seemed to please him, and he nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps   
I will."  
  
~~Narrator~~  
Kaylin's own exhaustion was wearing him thin by the time Darien   
had finished his meal and was ready to sleep. He had, after all, been   
up all night, risking his life in hellish circumstances, he had taken   
a nasty blow on his fall from his horse, and had then spent many   
hours caring for the near-fatally-wounded Princess, and calming her   
desperate Prince. Though it was only 2 pm, the room was nicely dim   
with the heavy curtains drawn, and Kaylin took the empty plates away,   
pulling the blankets back on Darien's bed.   
  
Hardly knowing what he was doing, Darien allowed himself to be   
led into bed, lying down, and closing his eyes. But the door was   
barely shut, and the light hardly out, when he slipped quietly from   
his own bed, and made his trembling way to hers. And, pulling the   
sheets open, he slipped into bed beside his love, wrapping his arms   
around her.  
  
"I'm here, Serena," he whispered, his lips beside her ear. "I'm   
here. I love you." The girl made no response, but seeing her face   
relaxed and peaceful was reward enough for the fallen Prince.   
Blinking the tears out of his eyes, he kissed her forehead lightly,   
then lay his head beside hers on the pillow and surrendered to sleep.  
  
  
~~Kaylin~~  
I awoke in the darkness of my room, and instinctively glanced   
at the red glow of the clock. 2am. I had last checked on Serena and   
Darien around 11pm, when I had woken from my dreams in a cold sweat,   
full of dread and nervous excitement.  
  
Throwing a long robe over my shoulders, I again slid from my   
bed, and made my way silently to their room. On my previous visits to   
their room, I had been not at all surprised to find Darien in   
Serena's bed. I should have thought to put him there in the first   
place rather than making him go to his own. Darien had been thrashing   
in his sleep, haunted, no doubt, by the same demons that chased all   
of us through the nights, but by some strange luck, he never struck   
Serena in his struggles, always ceasing his flailing before he   
touched her.  
  
In more ways than one, I was pleased to have them together like   
that. Their separation must have put a huge strain on them, and I   
felt if anything could help them recover faster, it was to be in each   
others arms.  
  
But to my surprise, when I reached their door this time, it   
stood slightly open. I was sure I had left it shut last time, so...  
  
I looked cautiously around the door, and my heart softened as I   
saw the small figure, kneeling beside the bed, holding the Princess's   
hand. A slow warmth spread through my chest. Mina.  
  
A half smile flickered across my lips, then I padded quietly   
across the carpet to her. She heard me coming, and glanced up at me,   
as I crouched beside her, my hand finding its way to her small   
shoulders. She shuddered slightly, and leaned in to me. In the   
darkness, she tried to smile, failed, and turned back to the sleeping   
girl. I heard her sigh.  
  
She turned to me with sad, mournful eyes. "She has to survive."   
It sounded like a plea, as if she expected me to declare by some   
divine power that it would be alright. I stared at her pale eyes in   
the darkness, so full of hope and tears and pain and love. Unable to   
find any other answer for her, I pulled her close, and placed a   
gentle kiss on her forehead.   
  
"I know." I turned back to the bed, my arm still holding her   
close. Darien was quiet now, his arms wrapped firmly around the   
Princess, and I nodded subtly to myself.  
  
"Come on Mina." I rose, gently taking her arm. "Come back to   
bed."She hesitated, then followed.  
  
I led her back to her room, tucking her into bed as would a   
father his child, and she lay down complacently, staring up at me   
with trust and warmth in her eyes.  
  
But as I turned to go, she took hold of my hand. "Kaylin?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"When I wake up tomorrow, will you be here? Or will you have   
vanished into some foreign realm again?" Her voice cracked as she   
said it.  
  
I sat gently on the edge of her bed, reaching out to stroke her   
face tenderly. "I can't make any promises, Mina." She began to   
protest, but I would not allow it. "This is not over yet. The   
Reformation is still out there, and I don't know what I may have to   
do or where I may have to go to end this. I know that's not what you   
want to hear..." I drew her towards me as I heard a muffled sob,   
"...but it's all I can offer you. I'm sorry."  
  
She wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her face in my   
shoulder, and I winced as I felt her shaking in my arms. Of all the   
people in the world, it seemed so wrong that *this* girl should be   
suffering, and though I knew I had caused it, I could do nothing to   
alleviate her pain.  
  
Finally, she pulled away, smiling bravely despite her tears.   
"It's okay, Kaylin," she assured me. "I understand why." She held me   
a little tighter, and my hand drifted up to catch in her golden hair.  
  
It was overwhelmingly peaceful, holding her warm body against   
mine, looking into her bright blue eyes, so recently wet with tears,   
and without thinking, I bent down and brushed my lips against hers. I   
heard her sigh softly. Ah yes, I thought tiredly, as I was   
delighted by her scent, her taste, her feel. This is nice. This   
feels so good...  
  
I was going to kiss her again, but just before my lips met hers   
for the second time, I realised what I was doing. Stunned, I pulled   
back quickly, desperately searching her eyes for what she thought of   
this sudden turn of events. I hoped I hadn't offended her, or scared   
her away...  
  
She stared back at me, confusion and just a hint of hurt   
showing in her eyes. But even I could tell she held no offence at   
what I had done, thought I suspected neither of us was ready to take   
it further.   
  
I looked away, embarrassed, but not quite ready to let her go.   
She seemed to understand, as she merely smiled, gave me a quick peck   
on the cheek and lay down slowly. "Goodnight, Kaylin."  
  
I rose from the bed, giving her hand a warm squeeze. "Goodnight   
Mina." I let her hand slide out of mine, then I slipped quietly from   
the room, turning off the light and closing the door, which creaked   
quietly behind me.  
  



	7. Together We Stand

When I Wake, Will I Find You There?  
By Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
  
All characters except for the ones I made up belong to whatever   
individuals/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 6 - Together We Stand  
  
  
~~Kaylin~~  
I paused outside the kitchen door before I went in to   
breakfast. I had passed Mina's room on my way down. Her door had been   
open, so she must be in the kitchen already... I cringed in   
anticipation of how she would react this morning. Last night I...   
well, I had kissed her, hadn't I? To my knowledge, she entertained no   
such romantic notions towards me. She had merely been tired, and I...   
Oh, stop torturing yourself, I commanded myself harshly. With a shake   
of my head, I pushed open the kitchen door...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Serena~~  
There are a precious few times in my life when I have felt   
truly safe, and most of them reside in the depths of my childhood,   
curled up in bed, or in my mother's arms, long before the Sailor   
Senshi ever appeared on Earth.   
  
But when I woke that morning, I felt safer than I have ever   
done in my life. Dimly, I forced my eyes open, and a small nova   
exploded within me as I realised that the warmth in my bed was not   
merely due to the blankets. Darien's warm, smooth body was lying   
beside me. His arms were wrapped gently around my waist, my leg   
resting slightly across his. His face was smooth and relaxed, and I   
could feel the deep, even draw of his breath, tickling the hair on my   
forehead.   
  
Though a flood of thoughts tried to invade my mind, I didn't   
wish to think beyond this room just for now. There was nothing on   
Earth beyond the edge of our bed, the curve of his arm. The world did   
not extend beyond his warm presence wrapped around me. I reached a   
trembling hand up to his cheek, not wanting to wake him, yet needing   
to see the blue fire of his eyes that had sustained me for so many   
terrifying weeks. He stirred lightly under my slight touch, and I   
whispered his name.   
  
~~Darien~~  
I cannot describe the flood of relief and emotion I felt waking   
up to the angel in my arms. Her bruised face shone once again with   
life and love, her body pressed against mine filled me with electric   
fire and her voice, whispering to me so gently was like music after   
the rain.  
  
Her hand was against my cheek, and I reached up to lace my   
fingers through her hair, finding, in my amazement, that my hands   
shook. She smiled though, as tears welled up in my eyes, and her hand   
drifted through my hair, down my neck, ending on my chest. My hand   
went up to her face, resting somewhere between her cheek and her jaw   
while my thumb played ever so gently over her full lips, then   
tenderly I brushed some bangs from her eyes.   
  
Neither of us spoke while these silent explorations continued.   
No words were needed. We had waited too long for this moment, too   
long for the sensation of each other's skin beneath our touch, for   
each other's warmth shared between us. Could it really have been so   
long, nearly three months now since I had felt my angel's soft skin   
and silky hair under my aching fingers?  
  
Finally, though, we lay still, my angel resting her head   
against my chest while I held her tight, my heart pounding all the   
while.  
  
"Darien?"  
  
I shuddered at her frail voice. "Hm?"  
  
"I love you."  
  
Then and there, I believe my heart actually broke. I rolled her   
fragile body halfway underneath me, resting myself above her like a   
shield. Her eyes stared up at me, absolute trust residing in their   
depths, and suddenly, I could stand it no longer.   
  
In a sudden motion, I captured her soft lips against my own,   
tasting her for the first time in months, her own unique feel and   
smell rampaging over my senses. It was a mistake, I knew. I was not   
ready for the surge of emotion inspired by that simple kiss. Her arms   
came around my neck, pressing her open mouth hard against mine. I   
pressed a knee between her warm thighs, overwhelmed by the flood of   
sensation surging through me. I thought to back away for a moment,   
but she held me tighter, and I willingly surrendered to my lady's   
wishes.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Mina~~  
I had woken early that morning, and despite my lack of sleep, I   
felt quite refreshed. Betty was just starting breakfast when I   
arrived at the kitchen, so I perched in the doorway, chatting to her   
while she cooked. I deliberately blocked out all thoughts from the   
night before until I had eaten, knowing that if I let my mind wander   
even a little, I would have no appetite.  
  
Finally, though, I pushed my empty plate away and settled back   
in my chair. I riot of thoughts instantly surged up on me. Were we   
really safe at last? Now that Serena was back, could we relax   
finally? Serena would recover, wouldn't she? Was Kaylin really...   
Kaylin had... oh my! Last night, I remembered, Kaylin had taken me   
back to bed. Kaylin had...  
  
...just walked into the kitchen.  
  
He paused in the doorway as he saw me, apparently trying to   
think of something to say, and I blushed at the direction my thoughts   
had been taking.  
  
"Well, don't just stand there. Are you coming in or not?" We   
both jumped as Betty interrupted our silent stare, oblivious to the   
undercurrents travelling across the room. Kaylin, though, blushed at   
her intrusion, and nervously shut the door, taking his usual seat at   
the table. "I'll just have some coffee this morning, Betty."  
  
She gave him a shrewd look. "No breakfast, eh? I've never known   
you to lose your appetite before." She shuffled back to the kitchen,   
and Kaylin turned to me bashfully. And I knew instantly what was on   
his mind. I blushed into my tea.  
  
"Mina, I..."  
  
"Here's your coffee then. I say, it's no good to be missing   
meals all of a sudden. It's not good for you." She fixed Kaylin with   
a chastising glare, to which he did not respond.  
  
"Thank you, Betty," he said finally, as the old woman continued   
to hover over him, and with a huff, she returned to the kitchen. He   
waited a moment to make sure she was gone, then turned back to me.  
  
Taking a deep breath, he began, "Mina, what happened last night   
was... well..." He shook his head. "Maybe I should be apologising for   
it but... I don't regret what happened. I feel... like I should   
be..."  
  
"Kaylin, don't." I interrupted. I smiled shyly. "I don't...   
regret it either." My heart skipped a beat at the look that crossed   
his face. It was unbelievably tender, relaxing his hard features to a   
softness I had scarcely believe could exist. I smiled delightedly   
back.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Darien~~  
I stared about the room as a myriad of thoughts swirled around   
me. Our fervent love-making had ended abruptly, as Serena had cried   
out against her aching injuries, and I had apologetically eased my   
hold on her. Now I lay on my back, Serena curled up against my chest,   
as I took note of the room around us. The day before was mostly a   
blur, misty images flashing in my mind of dark corridors and damp   
smells. How we had ended up in this room, I had no idea.  
  
Heavy curtains across the window kept the room in darkness,   
though the sun was obviously up outside, but I didn't dare move to   
look out the window. We had been delivered from our prison - of this   
I was sure - but I couldn't quite trust where we were now.  
  
I didn't get any further though, as there was a knock at the   
door, and it opened moments later, to reveal a man in black clothing.  
  
Serena tensed beside me, and I instinctively tightened my hold   
on her as I sat up, staring at the man defensively.  
  
"Endymion." He bowed briefly. "My name is Kaylin."  
  
"Why did you help us?" My voice was harsher than it should have   
been, but he didn't seem to mind.  
  
"You needed help," he replied simply.  
  
I stared at him for a long moment, then slowly nodded. "Thank   
you." How long I had waited for this man to come, for him to fulfil   
the promises he made me in my dreams. At times I had questioned   
whether he was going to come at all. That he now had seemed nothing   
short of a miracle.  
  
"But of course I came," he said suddenly. I took me a moment to   
realise he had answered my unspoken thoughts!   
  
"Yes, I am telepathic," he continued, again replying to my   
thoughts, and I flinched.  
  
"Stop it!" That he should be reading my thoughts so   
effortlessly was a terrifying idea. How much more did he already know   
about me? How powerful was he?   
  
Thankfully, though, he made no comment on that last thought.   
"I'm sorry," he muttered, genuinely ashamed. "I thought you realised.   
It won't happen again." He shifted nervously in the doorway. "I know   
you don't trust me at the moment," he added, "but I can only assure   
you that I'm here to help you." He looked me straight in the eye as   
he said it, and I saw the truth in his eyes. Then I shuddered as I   
saw something more there, something unnervingly familiar - something   
I should recognise... My eyes narrowed, not with distrust, but with   
curiosity...  
  
"Breakfast is being served in the kitchen if you're hungry,"   
Kaylin continued, swiftly changing the subject. "Is the Princess well   
enough to walk down there?" he asked, looking at her, but talking to   
me.  
  
Serena shook her head. "I don't think so." She spoke into my   
chest, her voice quiet - barely more than a whisper - and I felt a   
surge of concern.   
  
"I could carry you down if you wish." We both looked at the man   
in surprise, but he seemed to be waiting for my approval. I looked at   
Serena and she nodded.  
  
"Okay," I replied.  
  
As we walked down the stairs, I thought again of the look I had   
seen in his eyes. What was it I was supposed to remember? Where had I   
seen him before? Was he friend, or foe? If he was a friend, why was I   
so suspicious of his motives? And if he was the enemy, why had he   
rescued us?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Mina~~  
Days passed after Serena's return, uneventful, and yet filled   
with tension, like the calm before the storm. I watched my friends   
recover, Lita regaining her strength fast, the last of Ami's bruises   
fading, Rei learned to walk properly again, and Serena's bruises and   
cuts began to heal, under Kaylin and Darien's endless care. Watching   
the two of them working together was... unnerving.  
  
But all through these days, Kaylin's words kept playing through   
my mind - 'The Reformation is still out there - this isn't over yet -   
I don't know where I may have to go'. He seemed constantly busy now,   
tending to Serena or Rei, spending hours at a time with Darien   
doing... goodness knows what... and he still performed his habit of   
disappearing for hours into a locked room... I never had a moment   
alone with him, and in the face of his sudden tired impatience, I   
didn't dare bring up what had happened that night in my bedroom...   
though I couldn't help but think of it each night as I closed my eyes   
to sleep. It seemed that if I only imagined hard enough, he was there   
beside me, his warm hands on my face and his cool scent wafting   
towards me, while his lips hovered above mine...  
  
How pathetic I must sound. It seemed destined to go this way   
for me - just when things started looking up, something bad would   
happen. To me, the whole house felt tense and restless, but   
strangely, no one else seemed affected this way.  
  
The scouts spend endless amounts of time doting on Serena - her   
bright-eyed happiness had returned instantly when she had seen her   
friends gathered around the table at her first breakfast here. Every   
day the kitchen and the sitting room were filled with light chatter,   
laughter and high spirits. But I couldn't join them. Why was it that   
I couldn't just feel happy for once. We had been set free. What could   
possibly be wrong? But I noticed, as time passed, that I was not the   
only one trapped in pensive thoughts. Kaylin, too, seemed to be   
brooding, though I could guess at the reason for this, but the thing   
that surprised me was Betty. Each morning at breakfast, and whenever   
I surprised her in the drawing room, it seemed an effort for her to   
appear cheerful and talkative. I couldn't fathom the reason for her   
moodiness.  
  
But things, as they often are when trouble is looming, where   
brought to a point when Kaylin announced, one evening over dinner,   
that we all needed to have a discussion concerning the imminent   
future, and our role in it. No one needed to ask what he meant.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Narrator~~  
The sitting room was silent. No one dared look at each other,   
and all eyes remained on the floor for a long moment, as the scouts   
and Darien tried to take in what Kaylin had just said.  
  
"I understand how difficult this will be for you all, but the   
Reformation is still very active, and if we *don't* find them, and   
fight them on *our* terms, they will find us. And sooner than most of   
you think."  
  
"But they attacked us before with no trouble at all. We didn't   
stand a chance against them," Lita murmured, reluctant to admit the   
truth. "We still don't."  
  
"That's not entirely true." The scouts lifted their heads   
slowly, frightened, but curious to hear what Kaylin had to say. "They   
attacked when they did because of one simple reason, one factor that   
would have changed the entire situation. They knew Serena didn't have   
her crystal with her."  
  
There was a gasp, and everyone turned to stare at Serena,   
sitting bolt upright, her hands covering her mouth. "How did you know   
about the crystal?"  
  
"The same way I know that you are the Moon Princess," he   
replied, looking her straight in the eye. "And that Darien is the   
Earth Prince and the girls are the Sailor Scouts. I can't, and I   
won't explain it now. Haven't my actions spoken enough for you to   
trust me yet?"  
  
Serena opened her mouth to respond, but no sound came out.   
Darien, though, replied for her. "Of course we trust you. If the   
crystal is the key to all of this, what do we do now?"  
  
"When the Reformation first rebelled against Queen Serenity,   
she used the power of the crystal to banish them and their powers   
into a barren world, a type of 'locked dimension'. It took the   
massive force of the Negaverse to free them again. What Serena must   
do, once we have recovered the crystal - which we will be doing," he   
added, looking at Serena, "is to use its power to banish them   
once more. The crystal contains the entire force of the Moon Kingdom,   
and the Reformation cannot stand up against it."  
  
"Why can't I just destroy them?"   
  
Darien sat up quickly, putting a hand on Serena's shoulder.   
"Serena, no. Don't question it..."  
  
"Why can't she?" Lita added. "If the crystal is so much   
stronger than the Reformation, why can't it just be destroyed. Then   
we won't spend the rest of our lives worrying about what happens if   
they ever break free again." There were murmurs of approval from the   
rest of the Scouts.  
  
Kaylin sighed deeply. "You could," he replied simply. The   
crystal does have the power to destroy them. However..."  
  
"There's always a 'however' isn't there," Lita muttered under   
her breath.  
  
"However, to do so, Serena, would mean you would kill yourself   
in the process. You body was not designed to handle that amount of   
power. It would destroy you."  
  
"What about the moon wand?" Ami ignored the stunned looks as   
she spoke up, and continued, "I know you haven't used it in a long   
time, Serena, but you used to channel your power through it, not   
through yourself. Wouldn't that work?"  
  
"We can all channel power through the wand," Lita added.   
"That's how we defeated Beryl all those years ago. And personally,   
I'd feel a hell of a lot better about this if we were all there to   
fight alongside our Princess."  
  
"Now hang on!" Kaylin shouted suddenly. "There's no way I'm   
letting a miniature army take on the Reformation! This was supposed   
to be a simple mission, one that wouldn't fail..."  
  
"I'm sorry, Kaylin," Darien interrupted. "You're out-voted on   
this one."  
  
"The Scouts had their powers stripped from them," he argued.   
They can't even transform the way things stand. I won't put them in   
so much danger..."  
  
"We fight together," Mars snapped. "Nothing, not you, not the   
Reformation, not all the powers on Earth are going to change that."  
  
"Mars is right," Mina agreed. "We fight as one."  
  
Kaylin stared back at the six sets of eyes, each as stubborn   
and determined as the next. Each willing to die for their friends.   
Each knowing the price to be paid for their freedom. Awed, he sat   
back in his chair, and found himself nodding. "All right, then. You   
win."  
  
"Yes," Darien stated brazenly. "We will."  
  
Kaylin took a deep breath. "Right, then. We need to recover the   
crystal - and the Moon Wand." His gaze swung across to Serena.   
"Unfortunately, I can't collect them for you." The confusion on her   
face was obvious, so he explained, "Where we are now is not, strictly   
speaking, on Earth. This is a kind of sub-dimensional 'pocket'. I   
stumbled across it quite by accident when I was searching for you   
girls. The problem with this is that I can't move a power as great as   
the crystal through the portals I use to travel. Put simply, the two   
opposing powers would obliterate anything standing between them."  
  
"Meaning you," Darien confirmed.  
  
Kaylin nodded. "What that means is that Serena will have to   
come with me to collect the crystal. She would be able to shield its   
effects."  
  
"Well, that's not a problem," Serena said. "I know right where   
it is. And I even think I know where the Moon Wand is. I always keep   
it safe..."  
  
"It could be a big problem," Kaylin stated harshly. "I don't   
think you realise what we're going to be doing." Serena frowned, and   
shook her head. "We're going back to Earth. To Juuban. To your home."   
He paused to let the words sink in, then continued, "Until this   
mission is over, and the Reformation are destroyed, I can't let you   
be distracted by anything. That means that if we went back, we would   
arrive, collect the crystal, and leave. There would be no time to see   
your friends, your family, nothing! Could you do that, Serena?"  
  
There was not much point in answering. Serena knew she didn't   
have a choice.  
  
"I'm going with her."  
  
Kaylin turned to Darien with a cold glare. "No. The more people   
we take, the bigger risk it is. I can't let you do that."  
  
"Let me come with you," Mina interjected suddenly. "I can take   
it just as well as Serena can, and I... I don't want you going   
alone," she admitted to Kaylin.   
  
"Let me go." Rei interrupted. "I could..."  
  
"ENOUGH!" As Mina had found out on a previous occasion, Kaylin   
shouting was a frightening sight. "I said that I was going with   
Serena. That's it."  
  
"I said I'm going with her," Darien pointed out. "And I meant   
it."  
  
"It's not open for discussion," Kaylin snapped back, meeting   
Darien's eyes with an icy glare. Darien met his gaze without   
hesitation, and within seconds, Darien had stared him down. Kaylin   
looked sheepishly away. "Fine," he amended. "But that's it," he   
snapped at Lita, who had already opened her mouth to argue. "I don't   
want to hear another word about it."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Serena shuddered as she stumbled out of the portal. She had   
landed on grass, she realised, and then grabbed for Darien's hand as   
a wave of dizziness swept over her. She looked around in faint   
surprise.  
  
They were in the park. A cold breeze was blowing off the lake,   
sending shivers down her spine. A golden flash enveloped her as   
Kaylin emerged from the portal, shutting off the pathway, and as she   
turned to face him, she saw the faint tinge of light on the horizon   
that signalled dawn's approach.  
  
But Kaylin didn't let her take in any more of Earth's   
delights. "Let's get going then," he ordered sharply.  
  
Serena looked up in surprise, but quickly gathered her senses.   
"Er, right. This way."  
  
The walk to her apartment was designed to be uneventful.   
Arriving at dawn meant that few people would be around - and fewer   
people that might recognise Serena or Darien - but none the less,   
Kaylin had told Serena to steer clear of any familiar landmarks -   
namely, the Arcade. It was on a direct route between the park and   
her apartment, and it would take an extra ten minutes walk to avoid   
it, but Kaylin was taking no risks.   
  
Serena paused at the crossroads just before the Arcade. It   
would be so easy, just to go down that road, and see her old haunt   
and remember how she had played there as a child... With a shake of   
her head, she fought back the wave of nostalgia. She was here on a   
mission, nothing more.  
  
With a deep, undisguised sigh, she turned and headed in the   
other direction, Kaylin and Darien following close behind.   
  
Andrew sighed as he picked himself up off the park bench. Dawn   
might seem a strange time to be out taking a walk, but lately, he   
had been doing it more and more often. It helped to clear his head   
in the morning when he would inevitably wake from some horrible   
nightmare of... but no, he didn't like to think about it much. It   
was better just to get out of the house and clear his head with a   
brisk walk. Rita didn't even wake any more as he slipped out of bed   
each morning. At first she had worried each time he went out, but   
now she accepted it as she had accepted numerous other changes in   
Andrew's life - his frequent trips to the police station, his   
occasional midnight journeys out into the city, his gradual loss of   
weight... Perhaps, Andrew thought, as he headed to the Arcade for an   
early coffee, perhaps she had never commented on it because she   
understood the reasons behind his behaviour. In truth, he hadn't   
slept well since... well, since Darien had disappeared. And even   
when he did manage to sleep, he would always dream of his best   
friend, unable to shake the feeling that he was in some terrible   
danger...  
  
He rounded to corner to the arcade, trying to push the black   
thoughts from his mind again... and froze. Wasn't that... could it   
be...   
  
But no, he laughed bitterly at himself, as the black head   
vanished around the next corner. Wanting to see Darien so badly   
every day, always hoping that he would come back - it had started to   
mess with his brain. Darien couldn't be here. With a shake of his   
head, Andrew fixed his eyes on the ground, and headed straight for   
the arcade.  
  
  
Serena fought back tears as she turned the key in the door to her   
apartment. A faintly musty smell greeted her, the smell of dust and   
moth balls and... and yet the faint smell of her perfume lingered   
here still. "Serena?"  
  
She nearly jumped out of her skin as Kaylin's voice broke into   
her thoughts.   
  
"Serena, the crystal."  
  
"Er, right." She hurried to her bedroom, snatching the crystal   
from the draw beside her bed before she could look at anything else   
in the apartment. This was harder than she had thought... Just   
remember you'll be coming back here in a few days. No big deal she   
told herself firmly. "Right. Let's go," she said to Kaylin quickly,   
but was surprised when he shook his head.   
  
"The moon wand," he reminded her shortly.  
  
"Oh, er... it was, er... I know, in the cupboard." In a flurry   
of movement, Serena wrenched open the cupboard door, shoving items   
along the shelf until she found a dusty shoebox marked 'FRAGILE'.   
She flung the top off, and sighed with relief as she felt the smooth   
handle of the wand in her hand. Now, if they could just get out of   
here before anything else happened...  
  
But even as she thought it, her eyes wandered selfishly across   
the room, betraying her best intentions. A picture caught her eye. A   
picture of her and Molly, taken just last year at a concert they   
went to. They both looked so happy...  
  
"Let's go," she muttered coldly, even as her eyes remained   
glued to the picture. A golden flash in the corner of her eye, and   
she knew the portal had been opened. Darien stepped quickly across   
the line of her vision, and vanished through the gap, but she was   
unable to take her eyes from the photo.   
  
How could she leave again without saying goodbye? Without even   
leaving a note, so that someone might find it and know where she had   
gone. How could she leave this place so untouched, knowing that she   
might never return...  
  
Kaylin placed a large hand on her shoulder, causing her to   
twist around in surprise. But instead of the condemnation she had   
expected, the look that said 'I knew you couldn't do it,' his eyes   
were warm and compassionate. "You will be coming back, Serena." He   
nodded gently. "Now, let's go and finish this."  
  
Serena nodded ever so slightly, turned slowly away from her   
past, and stepped into the portal.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Darkness seemed to cling to the old castle like dust clings to   
a disused shelf. It hung in ribbons down the walls, vanishing into   
deep pale crevices like serpents.   
  
The scouts stood at the foot of the slope, the forest damp and   
cold behind them, the wide, rocky plateau leading to that awful   
place, stretching out in front. Kaylin stood for a moment, staring   
at its defective shadow with nothing but fiery anger and cold   
glacial hatred. For a brief moment, he tightened his arm around   
Mina, who responded by stepping just a little closer to him. Darien,   
too, had his arms around Serena, and each of the scouts seemed to be   
trying to reassure themselves, though how successful they were was   
hard to tell. Yet it was not for Mina's sake that Kaylin felt this   
harsh agony of revenge. The Reformation had threatened the most   
important thing in the world to him, the one thing he held sacred   
above all others... and if nothing else, before he died, he would   
make them pay.   
  
But before he could think on this any further, he felt Mina   
moving away from him. Serena, too, had stepped away from Darien, and   
stood in front of the group, the moon wand, with its embedded   
crystal pointing like a great talon towards the castle. The scouts   
stepped in like martyrs, soldiers surrounding their sworn charge.  
  
It was not possible to tell whether there was a sun on this   
dingy planet or not, the sky was a perpetual grey. Serena stared at   
it with deep anticipation, not entirely masked by her faint   
disregard.  
  
This was not the dark prison that she had lain in for weeks on   
end. This was no longer a threatening facet of torture. This was   
justice. This was vengeance. And in some small way, this was her way   
of saying thank you.  
  
Thank you to Kaylin, for rescuing her. Thank you to Darien for   
wiping the tears from her eyes all those weeks, though his hands   
could not reach her face. Thank you to her mother, Queen Serenity,   
for giving her a second chance. A chance she did not intend to   
waste.  
  
"Moon Crystal... EXHALATION!"  
  
Slowly, the crystal began to glow. Like the spark of a fire,   
that grows to a glimmer, a steady, glittering flame, and finally to   
a burning, dancing blaze, the light spread, reaching out into the   
fog and melting the darkness to a clear, clean, new dawn. Serena's   
eyes, her face, her body all began to thrum with throbbing light and   
energy. And then, each of the scouts also reached out, placing their   
hands on the wand.  
  
"Mars...  
"Mercury...  
"Venus...  
"Jupiter...  
"STAR POWER!"  
  
The crystal exploded in a volley of brilliant light, forging a   
siren-like beam through the dusky air. It struck the dingy castle   
like a bomb, shattering its walls, cracking its rusty locks,   
crumbling its contaminated filth to fragments.  
  
And then, like a swarm of wasps, the Reformation and all their   
slaves can pouring out of the gap.  
  
Kaylin had never known a terror quite as great. For a brief   
moment, his heart stopped altogether, as a wave of pure evil came   
rolling towards him. It rose up, twenty feet into the air, curving   
over them like the waves of the ocean, red, bloody eyes and leering,   
vacant mouths glaring down at them. It gushed in, over the great   
rocky plateau...  
  
Mercury felt an inferno rise up in her chest. Be bold, the   
voice had said. Be bold. If there was a time to do it, now was the   
time. With the briefest of nods, Mercury gritted her teeth, let the   
swelling bravery within her come bursting forth...  
  
Mars felt a surge of pride as she watched the great wave come.   
The Reformation had not, in all their efforts, defeated her the   
first time. And by heaven, they were not going to defeat her now...  
  
Jupiter watched with a feeling approaching disdain. What gall,   
what possible arrogance could let them think they could defeat the   
Sailor Scouts! No, today was a day for victory, for the reclaiming   
of freedom. Today was hers...  
  
Mina's heart swelled with anger at the tide rising towards   
them. She was the Senshi of Love. And all that she had ever loved   
had been brutalised by this great force daring to oppose them. For   
Serena, she would fight them. For her friends, who had suffered so   
much. For Kaylin...  
  
Beneath their hands, the Moon Wand began to glow, burning with   
the energy that flowed through it. The crystal throbbed and pulsed,   
a fissure-like streak screaming across the land as the crystal   
prepared to strike its enemy.  
  
Serena felt a hand on her back, as she stared at the oncoming   
army. She needed no outside information to tell her that this was   
her love, the man she would give her life for. His touch alone told   
her all she needed to know. And so she stared at this terror with no   
fear, with no dread, and with no hesitation. She felt his anger,   
through his touch, felt his love, and remembered his promise to the   
Reformation. He would make them suffer more than any being in   
creation. Well, she thought, as she leant back into his strength. So   
be it.  
  
The very air shattered as the intensity of the crystal's beam   
multiplied. Ten, a hundred, a thousand times what it had been, it   
split into a myriad of fragments, each one seeking out and   
obliterating one of these hideous beings, flame, ash and dust   
exploding in wave upon wave of enlightened retribution.  
  
Soldiers fell, great screaming hordes crumbled to dust beneath   
the crystal's light, dust that scattered itself into the wind and   
over the barren land. Wave upon wave of them fell under the   
crystal's beam, as Serena and the Scouts shook with the strain of   
their efforts. On and on the wave came, pouring into the crystal's   
beam... but just as Serena thought it could have no end, the tide   
began to thin, the screams diminishing one by one as the hordes   
died...  
  
Finally, the plateau faded to silence, and the last of the   
hideous creatures fell. For a brief moment, the crystal's light   
faded, and the watching group saw with fear, with rage and with   
burgeoning anticipation, the eleven figures that stood before them,   
perhaps only thirty metres away, each one shrouded in a featureless   
red cloak.  
  
"And so it has come to this," Shendor stated finally. "You   
must know you cannot defeat us now, Daughter of Serenity. Your   
strength has diminished greatly, and yet we are still ripe in our   
power. Don't bother fighting the point, Prince of the Earth," he   
continued, as Darien started to argue. "There's hardly anything   
*you* can do about it." A slimy cackle rose out of the creature's   
throat. "My, my, prince of an entire planet, and you don't even have   
the power to break a shackle. All those weeks, lying there,   
helpless, waiting for some stranger to come and free you? Oh yes,   
Kaylin," he said, sarcasm entering his voice as he turned to face   
the shaking man. "You have proven to be *quite* annoying. I expect I   
shall enjoy...  
  
"MOON CRYSTAL... ANNIHILATION"  
  
In an instant, silver light and crimson heat clashed in the   
air, as Serena sent forth a great writhing serpent of energy,   
matched in strength and speed by the fire of the Reformation. The   
great mass twisted in the air, neither side backing down for one   
instant. But Kaylin could see it was a loosing battle. Serena was   
tired. All the Scouts were. Unable to transform, and completely   
vulnerable, it was only a matter of time before the steadily   
advancing inferno took them all...  
  
"Kaylin?"  
  
Through the roar of the battle, Kaylin turned, to see Darien   
staring at him, his eyes misted by the thick smoke in the air, but   
the look in his eyes was undeniable even before he spoke those few   
fate-altering words.  
  
"I know who you are." His eyes filled with tears, as his   
Princess stumbled to her knees. "Please help me."  
  
Kaylin nodded silently, and reached out for Darien's hand. He   
placed it beneath his own, along side Serena's on the moon wand. And   
as it had, many days ago in the dungeon, Darien felt like his hand   
was on fire. Power surged up through him, the power of the Earth, a   
great gushing torrent of it as the latent force of Darien's heritage   
then poured into the Moon Wand. Aquamarine light mingled with   
silver, and the Earth and the Moon Kingdoms joined forces.  
  
Shendor's assault faltered for one brief moment, as sheer   
disbelief ran through his ancient mind. This could not happen. In   
all the histories, it had never been done. It was simply   
impossible... And then, as the glittering, healing light surrounded   
them all, he felt an excruciating pain, then a soaring lightness,   
then he ceased to feel anything at all.  
  
Serena sat placidly on the ground for a long time, staring at   
the blistering burn across the flesh of her hand. Her eyes drifted   
to where the Moon Wand lay, shattered into glittering dust on the   
ground. The surge of energy had simply overloaded it, and Serena   
thought dimly what would have happened if all that energy had been   
channelled through *her*, instead. The crystal lay softly on the   
ground, nestled in a pile of ash until Serena's nimble fingers   
reached out to pluck it from the ground, cradling it against her   
body instead. Slowly, she turned, craning to look at Darien who was   
seated beside her. "Darien?"  
  
He slid an arm across her shoulders. "Yes, my love?" he   
replied, his voice low and husky.  
  
"Is it over now?" Her voice sounded small and feeble, like a   
lost child.  
  
Darien looked up at Kaylin, his eyes pleading. Kaylin forced   
himself to stare back at those eyes, committing to memory the pain,   
and the hope, that he saw there. Then he nodded. "That's the end.   
Let's go home."  
  



	8. In the End, or at the Beginning

When I Wake, Will I Find You There?  
By Scutter  
scutter1200@hotmail.com  
  
  
I have made up some characters.   
Disclaimer: All original Sailor Moon characters belong to whatever   
individuals/ companies own or made Sailor Moon.  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Epilogue - In the End, or at the Beginning  
  
  
~~Mina~~  
Home.   
  
I cringed as that lonely word drifted through my mind. What   
would be waiting for us there? What would we do with our lives now?   
Was it possible for us to go back to normalcy and forget about all   
that had happened here? I didn't think so.  
  
But as we landed back on earth that evening, stumbling out   
through the portal onto dew-damp grass, all my ill-fitting thoughts   
fled instantly. Glowing before us, like a welcoming beacon, the   
setting sun illuminated the sky with a burst of colour like I have   
never seen.  
  
We had landed in the park, I quickly realised. Tears sprang to   
my eyes as I stared around myself, the birds in the trees, the   
couples sitting cuddled up on the grass, the children being called   
home by their parents. It was unbelievably, and undeniably the most   
beautiful thing I have ever seen.  
  
My friends, too, reacted drastically. Serena burst into tears,   
collapsing into Darien's arms, whose eyes were also wet. Lita seemed   
fit to burst with excitement, pointing and waving at everything in   
speechless joy. Rei fell to her knees, her raven hair soaking up the   
dew as her head was bowed low, praying to whatever gods were   
listening. Ami simply collapsed on the ground sobbing.   
  
I can't pretend to know how long we stood there, enraptured by   
the sights before us, but eventually, we noticed it had grown dark.   
  
"You could all come over to the temple if you like," Rei   
offered immediately. No one was inclined to break up our group just   
yet, so we agreed.  
  
We had discussed what we would tell our friends when we got   
back - our absence was certain to have caused immense worry, so we   
had concocted stories about where we had been and why we had left   
with no explanation. We'd tried hard to make the stories plausible -   
the last thing we needed was for people to get suspicious and ask too   
many questions. It may have worked, too, but in all our careful   
planning, we had forgotten one simple detail. And as foolish as we   
felt at the time, it was understandable that it had simply slipped   
our minds.  
  
And so it was that the instant we stepped through the temple   
doors, all our careful plans were shattered. Chad sat beside the   
fire, staring into it's glow as if hypnotised. Rei knows that he   
can't read fire, but I wouldn't have put it past him to try - he must   
have gone half mad with worry. I bit my lip as Rei stole across the   
floor to him, the rest of us huddled by the door in silence. She   
knelt down gently, as he refused to look up.   
  
"Temple's closed. Come back tomorrow," he muttered in a   
monotone.  
  
Rei sat speechless for a long moment, and though her back was   
to me, I could imagine the tears in her eyes.  
  
"Well okay," she gasped out finally, sarcastic humour showing   
despite her tears. "If that's the way you feel about it."  
  
Realisation hit Chad like a physical blow, and he had snapped   
around to face her before I could blink. Only one more second passed   
before she was in his arms, engulfed in a wave of concern that was   
almost tangible.   
  
"Rei! Oh Rei, I was so worried about you! Where were you all   
that time? I'm so glad you're safe. I missed you so much Rei. Oh   
gods, are you alright?"  
  
Rei sniffed, and managed a faint laugh as his reaction. "I'm   
fine, Chad. I'm fine. I'm safe now."  
  
Chad nodded into her hair. "Oh Rei, I was so worried about you.   
When I saw that purple cloud, and then you just vanished, and I   
thought I would never see you again. Oh Rei, are you really alright   
now?" Rei could not reply, simply sobbing into his shoulder as he   
held her.  
  
Meanwhile, my mind was racing. Purple cloud? He saw that? Then   
I could have cursed myself. Of course he did. He was with Rei when it   
happened. There was no way he was going to buy our stories now. So   
what *were* we going to tell him. We couldn't possibly tell him the   
truth... could we?"  
  
After a long silence, filled only by Rei's sobbing, Chad   
finally looked up, and noticed somewhat to his surprise, the crowd of   
us standing in the doorway. His face grew pale, and he drew back   
slightly from Rei. "Rei? What's going on?"  
  
She shook her head. "I... I can't tell you Chad. I... just   
can't."  
  
He eyed us warily, and slowly shook his head. "Man, I always   
knew there was something kinda odd 'bout you lot, but this tops it   
all. And I don't care how many times I have to ask, I'm going to find   
out what it is."  
  
It was Lita who finally broke our collective silence. "He's   
right, guys. We have to tell him. Given what he knows already, we   
can't just... we have to tell him."  
  
"Ken and Greg know what happened as well," Chad admitted   
suddenly. "After you all disappeared, we spent a lot of time   
together, trying to find you, or find out what happened..."  
  
"Then we should get them over here as well," Serena stated.   
"That way we only have to tell this once..."  
  
Ami, I noticed, had become quite pale. "Greg..."  
  
  
Phone calls were made, and Ken and Greg were soon on their way.   
Rei, Serena, and Darien all took places on the sofa in Rei's sitting   
room, while Kaylin and I chose the floor. Lita was pacing the room   
while she waited, and Ami had run out of the room to lock herself in   
the bathroom. She hadn't even wanted to be in the room when Chad   
called Greg, and strangely, I remembered that it had been after she   
woke screaming Greg's name, that Ami had begun to recover from her   
encounter with the Reformation. So of course, I suppose, she would be   
scared now. She must have a lot of hopes riding on this reunion.  
  
A knock at the door soon announced Ken's arrival, and Chad went   
to answer it. He was supposed to give Ken a brief pep-talk or   
something, before he saw Lita, but apparently it didn't work too   
well, for it did nothing to lessen the shock that flooded Ken's eyes   
as Lita crept reluctantly into the room. In a flash, Ken launched   
himself at her, crushing her to himself in a desperate hug. As Chad   
had done, he blurted out a volley of questions, only calming down   
when Lita assured him for the fifteenth time that she was safe, that   
there was nothing wrong any more. Rei explained quickly that the   
entire story would be told when Greg arrived.  
  
  
~~Serena~~  
It took fifteen minutes for me to talk Ami out of the bathroom,   
and then I had to dash after her down the hall before she could lock   
me out of Rei's bedroom instead. I launched myself through the door   
as she was closing it, but after I was in the room, I locked the door   
behind me when she screamed an array of threats if I didn't.  
  
Holding her next to me on the bed, I could feel her shaking,   
and remembered all too well how powerful longing could be when   
waiting for the touch of a loved one. All those weeks I had waited   
for Darien... I felt almost physically sick at the memory.  
  
Finally, a knock at the door interrupted her frantic worrying,   
and I dragged myself out of her arms as she tried to stop me going to   
open it. The locked slipped silently back, and I opened the door.   
Greg stood before me, and I stepped aside as his gaze settled on   
Ami's bloodshot eyes.  
  
"Ami...?" Joy, relief, and adoration flooded the girl's face as   
she ran across the room into her love's arms.  
  
  
~~Mina~~  
It took quite a while for Ami and Greg to come back to the   
sitting room, and when they did, I could see they had both been   
crying. Finally, though, we were all ready, and over a three hour   
session, the whole story came out - how we had become Sailor Scouts,   
who we were in the Silver Millennium, what had happened during our   
fight with Beryl, and finally, where we had been for the past four   
months.  
  
When we finally finished, there was absolute silence, as we   
watched the three guys try to take in this story.  
  
"Woah, dude" Chad muttered softly, his arms reaching out for   
Rei in a daze. "Rei, that really happened to you?"  
  
Unable to speak, the raven haired girl nodded, tears flowing   
forth as she fell against her boyfriend's shoulder.   
  
No one else spoke for a long time, but I could see Lita was   
trying not to cry. It looked like Ken was going to beat her to it   
though. Tears began to slide down his face, as he gritted his teeth   
to keep the sobs inside. That broke Lita, and she leapt up from the   
floor, flying into the next room where we heard her break into sobs.   
Ken followed her quickly, closing the door behind him.  
  
Ami was next to break, and Greg gently helped her out of the   
room, disappearing down the hall. Serena was sitting curled up in   
Darien's lap, while tears streamed down his cheeks. In a room full of   
sobbing people, I felt my own control begin to slide, and turned to   
Kaylin in mute despair, biting my lip hard. He understood   
immediately, and took my hand. "Come outside, Mina."  
  
Once out in the cold night air, I paced across the steps of the   
temple, breathing quickly as I fought the tears back. Kaylin stood   
watching me, his hands deeply in his pockets, neither sympathy nor   
disapproval in his expression, just patience.   
  
"I just don't want to cry any more," I told him, though he had   
not asked for an explanation. "I've done enough of it. I've had   
enough..." I expected him to tell me it was alright to cry, alright   
to feel pain, but he didn't. He just stood and waited for me to gain   
control of myself, and looked at me with such compassion and empathy   
that I felt my heart crack. Did this man have no conception of how   
much he affected me, with his endlessly compassionate caring? But   
more importantly, how was I ever to earn the admiration of such a   
man?   
  
Finally though, I stopped my pacing, and as he opened his arms   
to me, I stood still beside him, as we both stared out into the   
night, the city lights shining back at us.  
  
For a long time we stood, neither one speaking or moving, just   
looking, and remembering how we had come to be here, and how much we   
felt we had earned this moment of quiet consideration. Then, after a   
time, he raised one arm to a point low in the sky. "You see that   
bright star just next to the horizon?" he asked. I nodded. He smiled   
faintly. "That's Venus."  
  
Why this simply statement touched me so deeply, I still do not   
understand. But that was the turning point for me. Looking back, that   
was the first time I had felt freedom in a long, long time. The quiet   
uplifting rush of hope and joy that comes flooding through one's   
body, and quite sweeps them away. And I decided I liked the sensation   
so much that I chose to cling onto it.  
  
"Thank you, Kaylin," I told him, as I slid closer into the   
curve of his arm. "Thank you for everything."  
  
He smiled down at me, his face faintly lit from the myriad of   
distant lights. "You're welcome, Mina."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Andrew~~  
That morning when it happened, I woke with such tense   
nervousness that I quite leapt out of bed, even managing to wake Rita   
in my anxiety. Of course, at the time, I had no idea it was going to   
happen, and yet, looking back, it all seems so logical...  
  
But I'm already off track, and I've barely started.   
  
It was a Saturday.  
  
Moreover, it was exactly eighteen weeks since Darien had   
vanished.  
  
"Andrew, Sweetie? What's wrong?"  
  
I spun round to glare at my wife as I stood in the middle of   
our bedroom. "What?"  
  
She flinched at my tone of voice. "Did something happen last   
night? You're never this aggitated when you wake up..."  
  
I blinked at her. "Wrong? I... don't know..." I glanced out the   
window again. Why *was* I so nervous? "I'm going out," I declared,   
and as I threw on a pair of jeans and a shirt (that shirt *was*   
clean, wasn't it?) she lay back down, resigned to be left in bed for   
yet another morning. Something about that got to me...  
  
Got to me enough to make me stop in the doorway, and glance   
back at my wife for the first time since I had started this obsessive   
habit. She was lying on her side, facing away from me. Hadn't she   
heard me stop? Why didn't she look up?  
  
"Rita?"  
  
"Hm? Yeah, Andy?" She lifted her head.  
  
I froze.  
  
How long had it been since I had seen that look on her face?   
Such hope and longing, and... something else... it all seemed so   
foreign to me now. What was it that I could no longer recognise? But   
something within me knew, and so it did not entirely surprise me when   
my next thought sprung to mind. How long had it been since I had made   
love to this woman?  
  
Her lips parted slightly.  
  
Too long.  
  
"Andy?" She slowly lifted a slender hand, reaching out to me.   
How reluctant she seemed now... how afraid that I would... reject   
her...?  
  
Then, as I crossed the room in just three steps, it no longer   
mattered, a muttered apology tumbling from my lips as my worries   
fled my body, replaced by inexpressible love for the angel who   
willingly wrapped herself around me.  
  
~~Darien~~  
I must have stood outside Andrew's door for at least three   
hours before I got the courage to knock. And the moment I had, I   
wished it undone, ready to make a run for it. But I forced myself to   
stand there, wondering what he would do when he opened the door...  
  
The group had discussed what we would tell Andrew, and the vote   
had been unanimous that after Chad, Greg and Ken got to know the   
truth, then Andrew should as well. He was my best friend, after all,   
and I owed him that much. Serena, Chad, even Kaylin had all offered   
to tell him, but I had firmly told them that I wanted to do it   
myself. Now, though, I wasn't so sure. Perhaps I could have at least   
brought Serena along...  
  
"Hold on! I'm coming." The door opened slowly, and I stared up   
into the dim interior of the room...  
  
"..."  
  
"Darien?"  
  
Andrew reached for another tissue as tears overflowed from his   
eyes again. "So that's why you never mentioned Kaylin before, right?"  
  
I nodded. "It took me a long time to realise it myself. I felt   
a right idiot when I did, though."  
  
"Wow. Who'd have thought he'd be your... hold on a second!!"   
His eyes opened wide. "If you're Tuxedo Mask, then that means   
Serena's..."  
  
"Sailor Moon." I finished for him.   
  
Rita, who had been sitting on the arm of the sofa next to   
Andrew, perked up at that. "Of course! It's so obvious once you know!   
The hair-do's an exact match!"  
  
"So it's all over now, right? I mean, the Reformation's gone,   
there are no more evil Queens, jealous Kings or strange monsters,   
right?" Andrew was plucking nervously at the sofa stuffing.  
  
I sighed. This would be hard. "For now, that's right."  
  
He looked up sharply. "For now...?"  
  
"If the need ever arises for the Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Mask   
to fight again, we will be there, ready to defend the Earth. That's   
our sworn duty, Andrew. It's just a fact of life and I need you to   
accept it."  
  
He seemed to think about this for a long while, then he slowly   
nodded. "I guess I can live with that..."  
  
It was several hours before I left Andrew's place, but when I   
finally did, I felt something of a weight had been lifted from my   
shoulders. To finally have told someone how much it had hurt, to   
be trapped there like that, to feel so helpless. Andrew - and Rita -   
were both very understanding, offering me some very good advice and   
comfort. But I still felt alone somehow. And I couldn't for the life   
of me figure out why...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~Serena~~  
I spent as much time as possible with Darien over the next few   
weeks. I knew he still felt guilty over what had happened to me, and   
try as I might, I couldn't stop him torturing himself over it.   
  
As summer turned to autumn the last of my bruises faded, but he   
would not let go of the pain of the past. We never talked about it   
much, and perhaps that was a mistake on my part. It allowed Darien to   
hide from what he was feeling. He was more reserved as well, not   
hugging me or kissing me like he used to.  
  
He would always smile when I took his hand or smiled at him,   
but I noticed that more and more often, the smile didn't reach his   
eyes. It was as if a gulf had opened between us, and it tore at my   
heart to watch him drifting further and further away.  
  
Finally, though, I realised my mistake. It came as quite a   
shock at first. Darien and I were walking in the park one afternoon,   
watching the leaves turn to brown and red and fall from the trees. As   
usual, Darien was a little melancholy, and I threaded my hand through   
his as we walked, hoping to get a smile out of him for it, even if it   
was only an empty smile.  
  
We stopped after a while, sitting on a bench while we were both   
lost in our own world of silence, my hand on Darien's knee, and his   
over mine. Then I noticed he was staring at my fingers. I wondered   
why, looking down to see the bright diamond engagement ring that   
always glittered there, and I realised with a start that it was   
missing. I panicked for a moment, thinking I had lost it, but then I   
realised, I had been washing the dishes after dinner the night   
before, and as usual, had removed my ring to avoid losing it. But   
somehow, I had forgotten to put it on again afterwards. It must still   
be sitting beside the window at home. I was sure Darien was going to   
comment on it, asking where it was, but he remained silent. He ran a   
stray finger over my ring finger, then looked away, closing my hand   
in his.   
  
In a painful flash, I realised that he thought I had taken it   
off deliberately. Could that really be true? Could he believe that I   
didn't want to marry him any more??   
  
My heart stopped for an instant as I realised what was going   
on. The distance between us was no accident. He was backing off. And   
in a burst of ferocious determination, I decided I wasn't going to   
let him. Oh no, not this time.  
  
"Darien?"  
  
He turned to me with that same hollow smile. "What is it,   
Princess?"  
  
I almost burst into tears at that one simple word. 'Princess.'   
He still thinks of me as his princess...  
  
"We need to talk," I whispered pleadingly, and as I did so, I   
saw the instant pain in his eyes. His hand tightened unconsciously   
around mine, and I saw that he feared I was going to give up on him,   
as he had given up on any chance with me.  
  
He nodded and looked away, resigned to his fate, but I would   
not let him go so easily.  
  
"But not here," I added, my voice surer this time. "Can we go   
somewhere more private?" He nodded again. "Can we go to your   
apartment?"  
  
He was surprised by that, but he was beyond refusing. His eyes   
shifted uncertainly as he agreed. Stiffly, he rose from the seat, and   
we walked hand in hand back to his apartment building.   
  
I have never known an elevator ride to take so long, but I   
refused to say anything until we were in his apartment, the door   
safely closed behind us, for I knew at least one of us was going to   
be in tears by the end of this.  
  
I followed him into his living room, and he sat numbly on the   
couch - I could see he was waiting for me to deliver that breaking   
blow. My heart broke at his misery, and I didn't even bother to take   
off my jacket, in my hurry to end his pain, if I could.  
  
"Darien." I perched on the couch beside him, taking his hand in   
mine. He wouldn't look at me, though I knew he wanted to... His   
tears were already flowing, but I bit my lip to stop my own.   
  
"Darien," I said gently. "You know that feeling you get,   
whenever you think I might leave you, that you might lose me?"  
  
His eyes closed, and he nodded slowly.   
  
"Darien, that's the same feeling *I* get every time you think   
you've failed me." I could see the words register in his mind, but he   
was unsure what to make of them. "I see it in your eyes, Darien, you   
get that look that's so distant, and I know you blame yourself for   
what happened." My eyes began to water. "But I don't blame you,   
Darien. It wasn't your fault." I reached a shaking hand up to his   
face, forcing him to look at me. "I love you. And I refuse to let   
you keep torturing yourself like this." I threaded my fingers through   
his ebony hair. "I don't want to lose you. And I'm not going to let   
you leave me." My voice cracked. I dove into his arms, careless of   
what his reaction may be, and I shivered in relief as I felt his arms   
go around me, pulling me closer to him.  
  
"Don't cry, Serena. Please don't cry. I hate it when you cry."   
His voice was barely a whisper - and I could still hear the shake in   
it.   
  
"I don't want you to leave me. Promise me you'll never leave   
me, Darien."  
  
"I'm sorry, Serena," I heard him say, his voice muffled against   
my hair. "I was supposed to protect you. I swore I would protect you   
but I couldn't stop them. I should have been able to stop them..."   
His voice cracked, and he cried, heavy sobs torn from deep within his   
throat. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I love you. I'm so sorry I couldn't   
protect you. Forgive me, Serena. Please forgive me."  
  
I didn't bother telling him it wasn't his fault. That was not   
what he wanted to hear now. Instead, I told him what he needed to   
hear. "I forgive you."  
  
That answer, I think, had simply not occurred to him. He   
stopped breathing altogether for a moment, his arms locked around my   
body. "Oh gods, I love you."  
  
"I love you too, Darien. I will *always* love you." I felt his   
hand come up to the back of my neck, holding me there as if he was   
afraid I would melt away. I hugged him back just as tightly, not   
minding in the least the way his watch dug into my back or how my   
neck was twisted to the side...   
  
Finally, he relaxed a little, and the hug became one of warmth,   
rather than one of desperation. He drew back, running his hand along   
my chin as he gazed down at me. I stared back into those stormy,   
midnight-blue eyes, falling in love once again with the deeply   
sensitive and courageous man who stared back at me.  
  
When I saw the deep love that still burned in his eyes, I slid   
my own hand to his neck, pulling him into a gentle kiss. As our lips   
met, he sighed deeply, and a gentle groan rose from his throat. I let   
my lips play lightly over his, while my hands became lost in his   
hair, until his lips parted slightly, asking for more.  
  
Suddenly, I slid my tongue into his mouth, dramatically   
increasing the heat between us. My arms clamped around his neck and I   
pressed my body against his, revelling in the warm, hard muscle of   
his chest and stomach against me.  
  
He voiced his surprise - it had been a long time since we had   
kissed like this - but I wasn't about to let him go. I held him   
tightly as he tensed, and tried to pull away. Just as quickly,   
though, he began to relax, his arms tightening around me again while   
his mouth pressed hot sweetness against my own.   
  
~~Darien~~  
I was momentarily stunned as Serena clamped down on me, holding   
me like a vice while I tried to pull away. But it was hard to say no   
to her (not that I'd really want to), her sweet, soft body pressed so   
tight against mine. All I could think about was being with her, being   
next to her, being inside her. . .   
  
My imagination suddenly went into overdrive with that last   
thought, my heart pounding crazily while my hands moved of their own   
accord, over her shoulders, her back, down to her hips, then lower,   
pulling her hard against me as I thought about how this felt, oh sooo   
gooooood...  
  
~~Serena~~  
My eyes opened wide as I felt Darien shift me in his arms.   
Woah, time to cool things down there, lover boy. It wasn't that I   
didn't want to be in his arms - I did, for sure - but we had talked   
about this, and agreed to wait until our wedding night, and somehow I   
got the feeling *now* was not the best time to be making any rash   
decisions...  
  
Reluctantly, I pulled away from him, cringing at the   
disappointment in his eyes, but I knew I had to stop this, as *he*   
sure as hell wasn't going to. After some coaxing, he finally let me   
go, and I slid out of his lap back onto the couch, though I was   
reluctant to go *too* far away...  
  
His eyes flitted over mine uncertainly, and I had to fight the   
impulse to just dive back into his arms. Instead, I reached for his   
hand, stroking it gently in my own.   
  
"Promise me you'll never leave me, Darien." I spoke to the   
floor, my own emotional roller coaster finally catching up with me.  
  
"I promise, my angel. Anything you ever want, just ask. I'll   
always be here."  
  
I dared to look up into his eyes then, and for a brief moment,   
for perhaps the first time in my life, I saw a glimpse of his soul...   
My breath caught. I had never imagined...  
  
Our fingers entwined at we sat there, gazing into each other's   
eyes, until he brought my hand up to his lips to kiss it... and   
suddenly stopped... My ring! Oh no! What was he...?  
  
"Serena." he stated quickly, tension creeping back into his   
voice. "Why...?" He wrapped his large hand around mine, covering the   
offensively naked finger.  
  
I shook my head. "I was washing up last night, and I forgot to   
put it back on afterwards," I told him truthfully.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Darien!" I threw myself back into his arms. "I would never   
take my ring off deliberately! All I've ever wanted is to marry you.   
Now more than ever."  
  
He stared down at me with a hint of a smile on his face, and   
again, I saw that look in his eyes. "Princess..." Our lips met, and   
no further words were exchanged.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
One week later...  
  
~~Mina~~  
I fidgeted as I perched on the top step of the temple, unable   
to sit still as I glanced nervously at the street again.  
  
"Geez, would you relax already, Mina!" I blushed as Rei glared   
at me, but I couldn't help it "He'll be here, okay?"   
  
I shrugged uneasily. "I know. I just... I haven't seen him in   
three weeks, and..."  
  
"There he is!" Lita cried suddenly. My head snapped round to   
the street, but it was empty. "Nope, I was wrong. It was a bird,"   
Lita added, and I gave her a look that could have frozen hell.  
  
"Woah, hey, just kidding!" she cried as I lunged for her.   
Really, sometimes my friends could be *so* insensitive.  
  
"There he is," Ami muttered quietly, and I groaned.   
  
"Not you too, Ami. Please..."  
  
"No, I'm serious." She pointed down the temple steps. "He's   
there."  
  
I looked round stunned. "Kaylin!!"  
  
Sure enough, stepping casually up the steps to the temple, was   
my knight in shining armour. Except that he had left his armour at   
home today, and was dressed instead in jeans and a shirt - the   
traditional black, of course. My heart swirled in my chest as I   
watched him. How was it possible for something so casual to look so   
regal?  
  
Suddenly shy, I stood up nervously, lingering on the top step   
until Rei forcibly pushed me forward. "Well, go on then!"  
  
Kaylin looked up at her voice, and smiled warmly as he saw us   
waiting for him. "Mina!" He opened his arms in invitation.  
  
I hurried down the steps to him, grinning as he hugged me   
close. How I had missed this feeling... But all too quickly, he had   
me at an arms length again - "How are you, Mina?" - and I realised to   
my dismay that the embrace had been a brotherly greeting, not the   
reunion of lovers... I fought back a blush at the thought as I   
stumbled over my reply. Lovers?!? He had never shown interest in me   
that way. Why would I be thinking such things now...  
  
"So where's the rest of the gang," he asked, as we reached the   
top step. He meant Serena and Darien. We were all having a get-  
together at the temple that night, and the rest of the scouts were   
already here.  
  
"Serena called a few minutes ago," Rei replied. "She and Darien   
are on their way. They're just stopping to pick up some munchies then   
they should be here."  
  
"Hi guys!!" a bright voice called from the bottom step. "Sorry   
we're late, but *Darien* wouldn't finish getting ready, so that made   
*me* late..."  
  
"Save it, Serena," Rei chided her good-naturedly, as the blond   
girl finished pulling her somewhat bemused looking boyfriend up the   
steps. Darien simply grinned at Rei as she rolled her eyes."Well,   
you're here now, at least."  
  
Kaylin grinned, once again setting my heart racing. "Great.   
Let's go inside then, shall we?"  
  
  
From my perch on the couch, I glanced quickly around the room,   
trying not to stare at Kaylin, and failing. Serena and Darien sat   
next to each other on the floor, Ami and Lita occupied the opposite   
couch, Rei sat in front of the fire, and Kaylin sat on the other end   
of my couch.   
  
The night had gone well. It was the first time we had really   
relaxed since we got back. Every time we got together, there seemed   
to be a brooding silence over us, but tonight, somehow it was   
different. Rei had cracked the first joke, a nervous attempt at   
teasing Serena for being late. Everyone seemed on edge, terrified   
that someone would go too far, and the pain would flare up again. But   
Serena had grinned, stuck her tongue out at Rei, and said "Well, I   
couldn't break a tradition, now, could I?" Rei had called her rude,   
Serena had called Rei stuck up, and a tongue war had ensued. Laughing   
has never felt so good as it did then.  
  
That broke the ice for the rest of us. Friendly jibes and   
companionable jokes had flowed once more, and we saw that we could   
still be the close friends we had been before. Nothing had really   
changed after all. Or had it?  
  
I was acutely aware, the whole time, of Kaylin's dark figure in   
the corner of the room. The flames threw shadows softly against his   
face, and I was suddenly reminded of the first time I had seen him,   
coming into the kitchen that first day after my rescue.  
  
Which, not surprisingly, led quickly to another train of   
thought. The room fell silent just at that moment, and, throwing   
caution to the wind, I suddenly broke the silence.   
  
"I... er... well, while everyone's here, I just wanted to say   
something. Well, to ask something, really. And I don't know if now is   
the right time to ask it, but I've been waiting for a long time, so   
here goes." I bit my lower lip nervously. "Kaylin?"   
  
He looked up at me, and by the strangest sensation of déjà vu,   
I realised he already knew what I was going to ask. His eyes never   
left mine as the question fell from my lips, and the look in his eyes   
never changed. I was expecting anger, or denial - he had told me   
often enough not to question him, but...  
  
"Who are you, Kaylin? And why did you chose to help us?"  
  
~~Kaylin~~   
I watched Mina carefully for a moment, wondering what I was   
seeing in her frightened eyes. I didn't think even she knew just at   
that moment, so instead, I let my gaze drift down to meet Darien's.   
By the slightest of shifts, I asked for his permission to answer the   
question - to which he nodded slightly, smiling that faint,   
mysterious smile of his... And then I cleared my throat, addressing   
the entire room.   
  
"Mina's right," I admitted calmly. "I owe you all an   
explanation, and I should have told you a long time ago." I glanced   
over to Mina, and gave her a gentle smile. "My story begins in the   
Silver Millennium." I spoke slowly, phrasing my words carefully.   
"During that period of history, as you all probably know, the Earth   
was home to the palace of the King and Queen of the Earth. Their son,   
Prince Darien," I nodded in his direction, "was to grow up and rise   
become the new King. You all know that bit of the story already. What   
you don't know is that Prince Darien was not, as is commonly   
believed, an only child." I paused, before forcing myself to   
continue, despite the ashen faces in the room. "I was his younger   
brother."  
  
The silence around me was absolute.  
  
"But that's not possible!" Ami blurted minutes later. "I mean,   
Darien was... when he was a child, his parents were..."  
  
I nodded slowly. "I know about his parents, and... and the car   
accident. All I can say to explain it is that he and I were not born   
as brothers in this lifetime. I don't know why not, I don't pretend   
to understand how any of this came about."  
  
"Darien?" Serena turned to her boyfriend with disbelief. "You   
already knew about this?"  
  
He nodded. "Yes. It took me a while to figure it out - my   
memories of the Silver Millennium have never been as clear as yours -   
but I can vouch for the truth of his story. He was my brother. And in   
spirit, at least, he still is."  
  
"But what about the title of Prince of the Earth?" Lita   
interrupted. "Which one of you gets that now?"  
  
I smiled gently. "The title Endymion is, and always will be,   
Darien's. He was the older brother, so he is the heir to the throne."   
  
"But the rest of us don't remember you. I remember the Silver   
Millennium very well, and I don't remember you in it anywhere," Rei   
snapped coldly. "If this was all true, wouldn't some of us remember   
it?"  
  
I opened my mouth to respond, but a voice beat me to it. "But I   
*do* remember." Mina. Of course! "I remember it all," she continued.   
"I went to Earth a couple of times, and I remember meeting him then.   
When I met the Queen of the Earth, he was there, and again when I   
went for their Autumn festival..."  
  
"But that doesn't explain why the rest of us don't remember   
him," Rei insisted.  
  
"Did you ever actually visit the Earth?" I asked her carefully.  
  
"Well... no. But we never saw you on the moon, or on any of the   
other planets..."  
  
"I never visited the other planets. The Earth was my home, and   
I didn't want to leave it. I was, er... somewhat undiplomatic in my   
views on the other planets," I admitted sheepishly. "But before we go   
any further, there's something else I have to say. You asked me," I   
said, turning to Mina, "You asked me why I chose to help you. And I   
think I should answer that question next." The scouts nodded. "It   
was nearly six months ago now," I began. "I was sitting quietly in   
my gardens, and I suddenly heard a voice. All it said was 'help us'.   
It vanished almost instantly, but I couldn't forget it. I had to   
know where it had come from, so I started looking for... I really   
don't know what I was looking for at first. But then I started   
having dreams, just about Darien at first, then about Serena and   
Mina... and I started remembering things from the Silver   
Millennium. So I came looking for you."  
  
"It was me that asked for help," Rei mumbled suddenly. "When we   
were in the first dungeon, they were going to drug us, so I called   
out telapathically. I didn't think anyone had heard..."  
  
  
~~Mina~~  
Hours later, I was reluctant to let the night end, but it was   
past midnight, and Serena and Darien had already left. Slowly, I rose   
from my seat by the fire and gathered my things. "It's about time I   
got going too," I told Rei.   
  
She rose with me. "Okay, Mina. Take care walking home, okay?"  
I grinned, ready to proclaim my adeptness at self defence, but   
I was cut off before I spoke a word.  
  
"I'll walk her home, Rei." Kaylin had appeared at my shoulder,   
startling me.  
  
Rei smiled her thanks, and before I could object or agree, he   
was leading me out the door, his arms slung casually about my   
shoulders.  
  
I walked quickly beside him, nervous, and happy, getting more   
flustered by the minute. Images of the Silver Millennium flashed   
through my mind. Meeting Kaylin for the first time in the Earth   
palace, watching his dark yet playful eyes across the table at dinner,   
watching him dance with another woman during a ball. But there were   
other images as well. Images of his head bent down to mine, his hands   
in my hair, of - I blushed profusely in the dark - of me in his...   
bed??? And all the while, the man of my imaginings walked beside me,   
oblivious to my train of thought.  
  
I fiercely shook the images away, completely confused as to   
whether these events had occurred, or if they were simply conjured up   
by my over-active imagination and private longings.  
  
But my riotous mind would not leave me alone. If nothing else,   
I had to know if these events were real. But how could I ask such a   
thing? I made a small sound of distress, and Kaylin looked down at me   
quickly.   
  
"Did you say something, Mina?"  
  
"Uh..." I murmured, trying desperately to avoid sounding   
stupid. "Um, how much do you remember about... I mean, do you   
remember much about the Silver Millennium?"  
  
He looked at me in a way I couldn't quite fathom. "You mean, do   
I remember much about the Princess of Venus?" he asked coyly.   
  
I blushed an even deeper red. "Well, I, er... it's just that I   
don't remember much, and I was wondering..."  
  
There seemed to be a moment's disappointment in his voice.   
"Yes, Mina. I remember everything perfectly."  
  
"Did you and the Princes of Venus... get on well together?"  
  
He stopped walking then, turning to look down at me with a sly   
smile barely concealed."Yes. Quite frequently, actually."  
  
I faltered, not quite sure what he meant. "Were you good   
friends?"  
  
"Very good friends," he answered, without missing a beat.  
  
I blushed. "Did you ever have... anything... between you?" I   
gasped, stunned at my own audacity, but he didn't seem to notice.  
  
He raised an eyebrow, and I got the distinct impression he was   
playing with me. "Anything between us? You mean like... romance?" I   
blushed deeper, if that was possible, and looked down. I could tell   
from his tone of voice that he found this very funny, and I felt   
incredibly foolish. He must think me so childish for having a   
girlhood crush on him. He was strong and brave and courageous, and I   
was just...  
  
"Do you mean... love?" He reached for me, forcing my head up to   
look him in the eye. "Is that what you mean, Princess of Venus, the   
Planet of Love?"  
  
I trembled at the stroke of his fingers. I couldn't help   
staring at his lips. I had never been in love before. Is this what is   
was like? The singing rush through your stomach? The complete   
intoxication of your mind with only one person, one being, one soul?   
The weakness, the heat, the floating, the trembling...   
  
I stared into his eyes, and for the first time, I saw that the   
icy stare of those hard blue eyes was gone, replaced entirely with...   
heat. Burning, aching, smouldering heat. His arms wrapped suddenly   
around my waist, pulling my body firmly against his.  
  
He's so close...  
  
He brushed a long finger over my lips, his caress like new   
satin.  
  
Is he going to...?  
  
He bent his neck down, his forehead resting on mine. His hand   
slipped around to my neck.  
  
Is he going to...?  
  
I could feel his warm breath on my cheek. My heart was racing.   
I was sure he could hear it...  
  
He's going to...  
  
He tilted my head back, and captured my lips against his own,   
as a rush of fire roared through me.  
  
...kiss me.  
  
I was instantly breathless, his lips tugged heatedly against my   
own, his warm scent and warmer tongue forging magic through my entire   
body. His hard muscles played under my fingers as he held me   
mercilessly close, setting free for the first time the storm of   
passion I had longed for from him.  
  
I lost track of time as we stood there in the night, feeling   
safe and warm despite the darkness, his stomach and thighs hard   
against mine, his arms holding me so gently and so fiercely. When he   
finally released me he was as breathless as I, and I imagined that I   
could see, through the darkness, a powerful love in his eyes.  
  
"Oh Mina," he whispered to me. "Did you really not know how I   
felt about you?"  
  
"I..." I shrugged helplessly. "There was just so much going on,   
and I never really got the chance..."  
  
My words died as he bent to steal another kiss from my seared   
lips. Softer, this time, gentler and deeper, I imagined I heard a   
moan from deep in his throat, and answered it with a soft cry of my   
own.  
  
"I never stopped thinking about you, Mina. Not since the first   
time I saw you. It was so distracting all the time, having you there   
when I had to work. I ignored you horribly, Mina," he continued,   
placing a trail of kisses along my jaw and cheek, while I was still   
acutely aware of his thighs pressed close to mine and his hand   
travelling dangerously downwards over my back. "Can you forgive me   
for the way I treated you, Mina?"  
  
It was nothing short of impossible to think straight with him   
so near, so I said the first thing that came to mind. "I love you."  
  
For one horrible moment, he drew back, looking me full in the   
face while he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. "Do you? Do you   
really?"  
  
I nodded, and this time when he pulled me close, I wasn't   
letting him go. I wound my arms around his neck, responding with   
everything I had to the kisses he now laid on my lips.  
  
Somewhere above us, the moon shone brightly against the   
blackness of the sky, and a faint breeze rustled the leaves of a   
tree, illuminated by a solitary street lamp. But neither of us   
noticed. Nor did we notice some long minutes later, as we left the   
park together, on our way home.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
...which brings us back to the end, or perhaps the beginning,   
since this is where I began this story. Here in the park, where the   
ten of us sit now, the same group as before, with, of course, the   
addition of Kaylin. But this time, Darien and Serena are married, and   
Darien is sitting with his back against a tree while Serena leans   
against him.   
  
I know we have all changed since the beginning of this   
nightmare, but perhaps none so much as Darien. He was always very   
serious about life, taking whatever was thrown at him - goodness   
knows there was enough of it - and fighting to come out on top. But   
now, every now and then, I see something in his eyes that was not   
there before. Something more than sheer strength of will, more than   
just determination. Something that can only be described as peace.   
  
When I first saw it, I was stunned at the thought that he could   
find peace in the face of all our pain. But Darien always was a   
little different. Perhaps he believes nothing worse can come. If so,   
I fervently hope he is right. Perhaps he has realised that if his and   
Serena's love has lasted though *that*, it can last through anything.   
  
But as I watch him and Kaylin exchange a subtle glance when   
they think no one is looking, I wonder how much it has to do with him   
finding out he has a brother. Perhaps I will never know.  
  
And now, as I watch, Serena nestles against his chest, curled   
up against him like a child. He looks down at her with a tender   
smile, reaches out to stroke her hair and kisses her forehead. She   
looks up at him, her eyes still so innocent even after all her pain,   
and smiles at him. He bends down to kiss her lips gently, and this   
time, I turn away. I have my own tender kisses now. I don't need to   
watch theirs.  
  
And I? I am lying on the blanket with my head in Kaylin's lap,   
playing with my wedding ring while he strokes my hair. I've got to   
know him a lot better since we got back to Earth, learning that   
despite their similarities, he is very different from his brother.   
Slightly younger, and perhaps a little more playful than the ever-  
stoic Darien, Kaylin has more of an impatient urgency for life,   
rushing out to seek his destiny, rather than letting it find him, as   
Darien does. Although they share the same intense determination, and   
the stubborn streak as well. And the same incredibly blue eyes,   
looking down at me now from under that silken black hair... Mmmm.  
  
So once again, it seems, everything is perfect. Rei and Chad   
are not fighting, Ami has left her books at home, and is *talking* to   
Greg, yes, a real conversation, and down by the lake, Ken is   
proposing to Lita.   
  
Wait a minute. *Proposing??!!* I sat up in shock. Yes, he was!   
He was down on one knee, holding up a small box to Lita, who was   
turning the brightest shade of red you can imagine.   
  
"Hey guys," I whispered. "Check it out." They all sat up,   
noticing what I had seen, and as Ken stood up to kiss his fiance, Rei   
let out a loud wolf whistle. Lita looked up in horror, at odds at the   
best of times on how to express her 'mushier' emotions, as she called   
them, but Ken pulled her into a kiss before she could react, and soon   
they had forgotten all about us.  
  
Some of you may have noticed that before, I actually said 'my   
wedding ring'. Well...  
  
After that fateful day in the park when I finally admitted my   
love for him, Kaylin swept me off my feet in a whirlwind of romance,   
as, he claimed, he should have done from the start. Only a few weeks   
later, just after my twentieth birthday, he proposed, on a moonlit   
night, down by the lake in the park.  
  
I said yes instantly.  
  
Our wedding was only a few weeks after Darien and Serena   
officially tied the knot, and went as most weddings go, lots of   
flowers, tears, champagne, more photos than we could fit into three   
albums and all my closest friends there to see it.  
  
After the reception, Kaylin promptly whisked me away to a five   
star hotel, for a night of blissful ecstasy as we celebrated our   
love.  
  
Afterwards, when he held me in his arms and whispered his love   
for me, I knew I had found my freedom. The freedom I had been seeking   
that night so long ago, when I had first run from my dungeon out into   
the night. Here, in Kaylin's arms, where I would stay all the night,   
and where I would wake, with him beside me, in the morning.  
  
The End.  
Or the Beginning.  
Or Whatever.  
  



End file.
